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BY    @ATHEr^lNE<§>WEN 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


The  Gastronomy  Collection  of 
George  Holl 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

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Culture  and  Cooking  : 


OB, 


AET  EST  THE  KITCHEK 


CATHERINE  OW^^^fALCou^^ 


'3 


'Le  Crfiateur,  en  obligeant  I'homme  i  manger  pour  vivre,  I'y  invite  par  I'app^tit  ct  I'en 
recompense  par  le  plaisir." 


CASSELL,  PETTER,  GALPIN  &  CO., 

NEW  YORK,  LONDON,  and  PAKIS. 
1881 


all  4^  )\(^  Qj^ 


1881, 
Bt  O.  M.  DUNHAM. 


PRESS  OF  J.  J.  LITTLE  (>  CO., 

10  TO  at  ASTOR  PLACE,  NEW  VOM. 


TAV5' 

AGR1C 
LIBRARY 


PEEFACE 


This  is  not  a  cookery  book.  It  makes  no  attempt  to 
replace  a  good  one  ;  it  is  rather  an  effort  to  fill  up  the 
gap  between  you  and  your  household  oracle,  whether 
she  be  one  of  those  exasperating  old  friends  who  mad- 
dened our  mother  with  their  vagueness,  or  the  newer 
and  better  lights  of  our  own  generation,  the  latest  and 
best  of  all  being  a  lady  as  well  known  for  her  novels  as 
for  her  works  on  domestic  economy — one  more  proof,  if 
proof  were  needed,  of  the  truth  I  endeavor  to  set  forth 
— if  somewhat  tediously  forgive  me — in  this  little  book  : 
that  cooking  and  cultivation  are  by  no  means  antagonis- 
tic. Who  does  not  remember  with  affectionate  admira- 
tion Charlotte  Bronte  taking  the  eyes  out  of  the  pota- 
toes stealthily,  for  fear  of  hurting  the  feelings  of  her 
purblind  old  servant ;  or  Margaret  Fuller  shelling  peas  ? 

The  chief  difficulty,  I  fancy,  with  women  trying 
recipes  is,  that  they  fail  and  know  not  why  they  fail, 
and  so  become  discouraged,  and  this  is  where  I  hope 
to  step  in.  But  although  this  is  not  a  cookery  book, 
insomuch  as  it  does  not  deal  chiefly  with  recipes,  I  shall 
yet  give  a  few  ;  but  only  when  they  are,  or  I  believe 


m 


1^361804 


IV  Preface, 

them  to  be,  better  than  those  in  general  use,  or  good 
things  little  known,  or  supposed  to  belong  to  the  do- 
main of  a  French  chef,  of  which  I  have  introduced  a 
good  many.  Should  I  succeed  in  making  things  that 
were  obscure  before  clear  to  a  few  women,  I  shall  be  as 
proud  as  was  Mme.  de  Genlis  when  she  boasts  in  her 
Memoirs  that  she  has  taught  six  new  dishes  to  a  Ger- 
man housewife.  Six  new  dishes  !  When  Brillat-Sava- 
rin  says  :  ^'  He  who  has  invented  one  new  dish  has 
done  more  for  the  pleasure  of  mankind  than  he  who  has 
discovered  a  star." 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 
PEELnmfAEY  REMARKS 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

ON  BREAD. 

Sponge  for  bread. — One  cause  of  failure. — Why  home-made 
bread  often  has  a  hard  crust. — On  baking.— Ovens. — More 
reasons  why  bread  may  fail  to  be  good. — Light  rolls. — 
Rusks. —  Kreuznach  horns. — Kringles. — Brioche  (Paris 
Jockey  Club  recipe). — Soufflee  bread. — A  novelty 13 

CHAPTER  m. 

PASTRY. 

Why  yon  fail  in  making  good  puff  paste. — How  to  succeed. — 
How  to  handle  it. — To  put  fruit  pies  together  so  that  the 
syrup  does  not  boil  out.— Ornamenting  fruit  pies. — Risso- 
lettes. — Pastry  tablets. — Frangipane  tartlets. — Rules  for 
ascertaining  the  heat  of  your  oven. 22 

CHAPTER  IV. 

WHAT  TO  HAVE  IN  YOUR  STORE-ROOM. 

Mushroom  powder  (recipe). — Stock  to  keep,  or  glaze  (recipe). 
— Uses  of  glaze. — Glazing  meats,  hams,  tongues,  etc. — 
Maitre  d'hotel  butter  (recipe). — Uses  of  it. — Ravigotte  or 
Montpellier  butter  (recipe). — Uses  of  it. — Roux. — Blanc 
(recipes). — Uses  of  both. — Brown  flour,  its  uses 28 


vi  Contents, 

CHAPTER  V. 

LUNCHEONS. 

PAGE 

Remarks  on  what  to  have  for  luncheons.— English  meat  pies. — 
Windsor  pie. — Veal  and  ham  pie.— Chicken  pie.— Raised 
pork  pie. — (Recipes).— Ornamenting  meat  pies. — Galan- 
tine (recipe). — Fish  in  jelly.— Jellied  oysters,— A  new 
mayonnaise  luncheon  for  small  families. — Potted  meats 
(recipes).— Anchovy  butter. — A  new  omelet.  —  Potato 
snow. — Lyonnaise  potatoes 35 

CHAPTER  VI. 

A  CHAPTEE  ON  GENERAL  MANAGEMENT  IN  VERY  SMALL  FAMILIES. 

How  to  have  little  dinners.— Hints  for  bills  of  fare,  etc.— Filet 
de  bceuf  Chateaubriand  (recipe).— What  to  do  with  the 
odds  and  ends. — Various  recipes. — Salads. — Recipes 47 


•      CHAPTER  VII. 

FRYING. 

Why  you  fail. — Panure  or  bread-crumbs,  to  prepare. — How  to 
prepare  flounders  as  filets  de  sole. — Fried  oysters. — To 
clarify  dripping  for  frying.— Remarks. — Pate  k  frire  a  la 
Careme.— Same,  a  la  Proven^ale. — Broiling 55 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
Roasting 62 

CHAPTER  IX. 

BOILING  AND  SOUPS. 

Boiling  meat. — Rules  for  knowing  exactly  the  degrees  of  boil- 
ing.— Vegetables. — Remarks  on  making  soup. — To  clear 
soup. — Why  it  is  not  clear. — Coloring  pot-au-feu. — Con- 
somm6. — Creme,  de  celeiri,  a  little  known  soup. — Recipes. .     65 


Contents.  vii 

CHAPTER  X. 

SAUCES. 

PAGE 

Remarks  on  making  and  flavoring  sances. — ^Espagnole  or 
brown  sauce  as  it  should  be. — How  to  make  fine  white 
sauce 70 

CHAPTER  XI. 

WAEMING  OVEE. 

Remarks'. — Salmi  of  cold  meats. — Boeuf  a  la  jardiniere. — 
Boeuf  au  gratin. — Pseudo-beefsteak. — Cutlets  a  la  jar- 
diniere.— Cromesquis  of  lamb. — Sauce  piquant. — Miroton 
of  beef. — Simple  way  of  warming  a  joint. — Breakfast  dish. 
— Stuffed  beef. — Beef  olives. — Chops  a  la  poulette.— 
Devils.— Mephistophelian  sauce. — Fritadella,  twenty  re- 
cipes in  one 73 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

ON  FRIANDISES. 

Biscuit  glacee  at  home  (recipes). — Iced  souffles  (recipes). — Baba 
and  syrups  for  it  (recipe). — Savarin  and  syrup  (recipes). — 
Bouchees  de  dames. — How  to  make  Cura^oa.— Maraschino. 
— ^Noyeau 84 

CHAPTER  Xm. 

FEENCH  CANDIES  AT  HOME. 

How  to  make  them. — Foudants. — Vanilla. — Almond  gfearilt— 
Walnut  cream. — Tutti  frutti. — Various  candies  dipped 
in  cream. — Chocolate  creams. — Foudant  panache. — Punch 
drops 91 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

FOE  PEOPLE  OF  VEEY  SMALL  MEANS. 

Remarks. — ^What  may  be  made  of  a  soup  bone. — Several  very 
economical  dishes. — Pot  roasts. — ^Dishes  requiring  no 
meat 96 


viii  Contents, 

CHAPTER  XV. 

PAGB 
A  PEW  THINGS  IT  IS  WELL  TO  REMEMBER 105 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
On  some  table  prejudices 108 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

A  CHAPTER  OP  ODDS  AND  ENDS. 

Altering  recipes.— How  to  have  tarragon,  bumet,  etc.— Re- 
marks on  obtaining  ingredients  not  in  common  use. — An 
impromptu  salamander. — Larding  needle. — How  to  have 
parsley  fresh  all  winter  without  expense. — On  having 
kitchen  conveniences. — Anecdote  related  by  Jules  Gouffee. 
— On  servants  in  America. — A  little  advice  by  way  of 
valedictory HI 

Index 119 


CULTUEE  AND    CoOKIKG, 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  FEW  PBELIMINABY   REMARKS. 

ALEXA"NrDRE  DuMAS,  pere,  after  writing  five  hundred 
novels,  says,  '*  I  wisli  to  close  my  literary  career  with  a 
book  on  cooking." 

And  in  the  hundred  pages  or  so  of  preface — or  perhaps 
overture  would  be  the  better  word,  since  in  it  a  group 
of  literary  men,  while  contributing  recondite  recipes, 
flourish  trumpets  in  every  key — to  his  huge  volume  he 
says,  "  I  wish  to  be  read  by  people  of  the  world,  and 
practiced  by  people  of  the  art "  (gens  de  Vart)  ;  and  al- 
though /  wish,  like  every  one  who  writes,  to  be  read  by 
all  the  world,  I  wish  to  aid  the  practice,  not  of  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  culinary  art,  but  those  whose  aspirations 
point  to  an  enjoyment  of  the  good  things  of  life,  but 
whose  means  of  attaining  them  are  limited. 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  talk  just  now  about  cooking ; 
in  a  lesser  degree  it  takes  its  place  as  a  popular  topic 
with  ceramics,  modern  antiques,  and  household  art.  The 
fact  of  it  being  in  a  mild  way  fashionable  may  do  a  lit- 
tle good  to  the  eating  world  in  general.  And  it  may 
make  it  more  easy  to  convince  young  women  of  refined 
1  1 


2  Culture  and  Cooking. 

proclivities  tliat  the  art  of  cooking  is  not  beneath  their 
attention,  to  know  that  the  Queen  of  England's  daugh- 
ters—and of  course  the  cream  of  the  London  fair — have 
attended  the  lectures  on  the  subject  delivered  at  South 
Kensington,  and  that  a  young  lady  of  rank.  Sir  James 
Coles's  daughter,  has  been  recording  angel  to  the  asso- 
ciation, is  in  fact  the  R.  0.  0.  who  edits  the  *' Official 
Handbook  of  Cookery." 

But,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  done  by  South 
Kensington  lectures  in  London  and  Miss  Corson's  Cook- 
ing School  in  New  York  to  popularize  the  culinary  art, 
one  may  go  into  a  dozen  houses,  and  find  the  ladies  of 
the  family  with  sticky  fingers,  scissors,  and  gum  pot, 
busily  porcelainizing  clay  jars,  and  not  find  one  where 
they  are  as  zealously  trying  to  work  out  the  problems  of 
the  "Official  Handbook  of  Cookery." 

I  have  nothing  to  say  against  the  artistic  distractions 
of  the  day.  Anything  that  will  induce  love  of  the  beau- 
tiful, and  remove  from  us  the  possibility  of  a  return  to 
the  horrors  of  hair-cloth  andbrocatel  and  crochet  tidies, 
will  be  a  stride  in  the  right  direction.  But  what  I  do 
protest  against,  is  the  fact,  that  the  same  refined  girls 
and  matrons,  who  so  love  to  adorn  their  houses  that  they 
will  spend  hours  improving  a  pickle  jar,  mediae vali zing 
their  furniture,  or  decorating  the  dinner  service,  will 
shirk  everything  that  pertains  to  the  preparation  of  food 
as  dirty,  disagreeable  drudgery,  and  sit  down  to  a  com- 
monplace, ill-prepared  meal,  served  on  those  artistic 
plates,  as  complacently  as  if  dainty  food  were  not  a  re- 
finement;  as  if  heavy  rolls  and  poor  bread,  burnt  or 
greasy  steak,  and  wilted  potatoes  did  not  smack  of  the 
shanty,  just  as  loudly  as  coarse  crockery  or  rag  carpet — 
indeed  far  more  so ;  the  carpet  and  crockery  may  be  due 


A  Few  Preliminary  Remarks.  3 

to  poverty,  but  a  dainty  meal  or  its  reverse  will  speak 
volumes  for  innate  refinement  or  its  lack  in  the  woman 
who  serves  it.  You  see  by  my  speaking  of  rag  carpets 
and  dainty  meals  in  one  breath,  that  I  do  not  consider 
good  things  to  be  the  privilege  of  the  rich  alone. 

There  are  a  great  many  dainty  things  the  household 
of  small  or  moderate  means  can  have  just  as  easily  as 
the  most  wealthy.  Beautiful  bread — light,  white,  crisp , 
— costs  no  more  than  the  tough,  thick-crusted  boulder, 
with  cavities  like  eye-sockets,  that  one  so  frequently 
meets  with  as  home-made  bread.     As  Hood  says: 

"  Who  has  not  met  with  home-made  bread, 
A  heavy  compound  of  putty  and  lead  ?** 

Delicious  coffee  is  only  a  matter  of  care,  not  expense — 
and  indeed  in  America  the  cause  of  poor  food,  even  in  a 
boarding-house,  is  seldom  in  the  quality  of  the  articles 
so  much  as  in  the  preparation  and  selection  of  them — 
yet  an  epicure  can  breakfast  well  with  fine  bread  and 
butter  and  good  coffee.  And  this  leads  me  to  another 
thing  :  many  people  think  that  to  give  too  much  atten- 
tion to  food  shows  gluttony.  I  have  heard  a  lady  say 
with  a  tone  of  virtuous  rebuke,  when  the  conversation 
turned  from  fashions  to  cooking,  "  I  give  very  little  time 
to  cooking,  we  eat  to  live  only  " — which  is  exactly  what 
an  animal  does.  Eating  to  live  is  mere  feeding.  Brillat- 
Savarin,  an  abstemious  eater  himself,  among  other  witty 
things  on  the  same  topic  says,  ^'  L' animal  se  repait, 
VJiomme  mange,  Vhomme  d' esprit  seul  salt  manger.'^ 

Nine  people  out  of  ten,  when  they  call  a  man  an 
epicure,  mean  it  as  a  sort  of  reproach,  a  man  who  is 
averse  to  every-day  food,  one  whom  plain  fare  would 
fail  to  satisfy  ;  but  Grimod  de  la  Reyniere,  the  most  eel- 


4  Culture  and  Cooking. 

ebrated  gourmet  of  his  day,  author  of  '^  Almanach  des 
Gourmands,"  and  authority  on  all  matters  culinary  of  the 
last  century,  said,  "A  true  epicure  can  dine  well  on  one 
dish,  provided  it  is  excellent  of  its  kind."  Excellent, 
that  is  it.  A  little  care  will  generally  secure  to  us  the 
refinement  of  having  only  on  the  table  what  is  excellent 
of  its  kind.  If  it  is  but  potatoes  and  salt,  let  the  salt  be 
ground  fine,  and  the  potatoes  white  and  mealy.  Thack- 
eray says,  an  epicure  is  one  who  never  tires  of  brown 
bread  and  fresh  butter,  and  in  this  sense  every  New 
Yorker  who  has  his  rolls  from  the  Brevoort  House,  and 
uses  Darlington  butter,  is  an  epicure.  There  seems  to 
me,  more  mere  animalism  in  wading  through  a  long 
bill  of  fare,  eating  three  or  four  indifferently  cooked 
vegetables,  fish,  meat,  poultry,  each  second-rate  in  qual- 
ity, or  made  so  by  bad  cooking,  and  declaring  that  you 
have  dined  well,  and  are  easy  to  please,  than  there  is  in 
taking  pains  to  have  a  perfectly  broiled  chop,  a  fine  po- 
tato, and  a  salad,  on  which  any  tnie  epicure  could  dine 
well,  while  on  the  former  fare  he  would  leave  the  table 
hungry. 

Spenser  points  a  moral  for  me  when  he  says,  speaking 
of  the  Irish  in  1580,  "  That  wherever  they  found  a  plot 
of  shamrocks  or  water-cresses  they  had  a  feast ;"  but  there 
were  gourmets  even  among  them,  for  "  some  gobbled 
the  green  food  as  it  came,  and  some  picked  the  faultless 
stalks,  and  looked  for  the  bloom  on  the  leaf." 

Thus  it  is,  when  I  speak  of  ''good  living,"  I  do  not 
mean  expensive  living  or  high  living,  but  living  so  that 
the  table  may  be  as  elegant  as  the  dishes  on  which  it  is 
served. 

I  believe  there  exists  a  feeling,  not  often  expressed  per- 
haps, but  prevalent  among  young  people,  that  for  a  lady 


A  Few  Preliminary  Remarks,  5 

to  cook  with  her  own  hands  is  Yulgar;  to  love  to  do  it 
shows  that  she  is  of  low  intellectual  caliber,  a  sort  of 
drawing-room  Bridget.  When  or  how  this  idea  arose  it 
would  be  difficult  to  say,  for  in  the  middle  ages  cooks 
were  often  noble  ;  a  Montmorency  was  chef  de  cuisine  to 
Philip  of  Valois ;  Montesquieu  descended,  and  was  not 
ashamed  of  his  descent,  from  the  second  cook  of  the 
Connetable  de  Bourbon,  who  ennobled  him.  And  from 
Lord  Bacon,  "brightest,  greatest,  meanest  of  mankind," 
who  took,  it  is  said,  great  interest  in  cooking,  to  Talley- 
rand, the  Machiavelli  of  France,  who  spent  an  hour  every 
day  with  his  cook,  we  find  great  men  delighting  in  the 
art  as  a  recreation. 

It  is  surprising  that  such  an  essentially  artistic  people 
as  Americans  should  so  neglect  an  art  which  a  great 
French  writer  calls  the  *'  science  mignonne  of  all  dis- 
tinguished men  of  the  world."  Napoleon  the  Great  so 
fully  recognized  the  social  value  of  keeping  a  good  table 
that,  although  no  gourmet  himself,  he  wished  all  his 
chief  functionaries  to  be  so.  "Keep  a  good  table,"  he 
told  them ;  "if  you  get  into  debt  for  it  I  will  pay." 
And  later,  one  of  his  most  devoted  adherents,  the  Mar- 
quis de  Cussy,  out  of  favor  with  Louis  XVIII.  on 
account  of  that  very  devotion,  found  his  reputation  as 
a  gourmet  very  serviceable  to  him.  A  friend  applied 
for  a  plaoe  at  court  for  him,  which  Louis  refused,  till  he 
heard  that  M.  de  Cussy  had  invented  the  mixture  of 
cream,  strawberries,  and  champagne,  when  he  granted 
the  petition  at  once.  Nor  is  this  a  solitary  instance  in 
history  where  culinary  skill  has  been  a  passport  to  for- 
tune to  its  possessor.  Savarin  relates  that  the  Cheva- 
lier d'Aubigny,  exiled  from  France,  was  in  London,  in 
utter  poverty,  notwithstanding  which,  by  chance,  he  was 


6  Culture  and  Cooking, 

invited  to  dine  at  a  tavern  frequented  by  the  young  bucks 
of  that  day. 

After  he  had  finished  his  dinner,  a  party  of  young 
gentlemen,  who  had  been  observing  him  from  their  table, 
sent  one  of  their  number  with  many  apologies  and  ex- 
cuses to  beg  of  him,  as  a  son  of  a  nation  renowned  for 
their  salads,  to  be  kind  enough  to  mix  theirs  for  them. 
He  complied,  and  while  occupied  in  making  the  salad, 
told  them  frankly  his  story,  and  did  not  hide  his  pov- 
erty. One  of  the  gentlemen,  as  they  parted,  slipped  a 
five-pound  note  into  his  hand,  and  his  need  of  it  was  so 
great  that  he  did  not  obey  the  prompting  of  his  pride, 
but  accepted  it. 

A  few  days  later  he  was  sent  for  to  a  great  house,  and 
learned  on  his  arrival  that  the  young  gentleman  he  had 
obliged  at  the  tavern  had  spoken  so  highly  of  his  salad 
that  they  begged  him  to  do  the  same  thing  again.  A 
very  handsome  sum  was  tendered  him  on  his  departure, 
and  afterwards  he  had  frequent  calls  on  his  skill,  until 
it  became  the  fashion  to  have  salads  prepared  by  d'Au- 
bigny,  who  became  a  well-known  character  in  London, 
and  was  called  ''  the  fashionable  salad-maker T  In  a  few 
years  he  amassed  a  large  fortune  by  this  means,  and 
was  in  such  request  that  his  carriage  would  drive  from 
house  to  house,  carrying  him  and  his  various  condiments 
— for  ■  he  took  with  him  everything  that  could  give 
variety  to  his  concoctions — from  one  place,  where  his 
services  were  needed,  to  another. 

The  contempt  for  this  art  of  cooking  is  confined  to  this 
country,  and  to  the  lower  middle  classes  in  England.  By 
the  "  lower  middle  classes"  I  mean,  what  Carlyle  terms 
thegigocracy— ?'.e.,  people  sufficiently  well-to-do  to  keep  a 
gig  or  phaeton — well-to-do  tradesmen,  small  professional 


A  Few  Preliminary  Remarks.  7 

men,  the  class  whose  womenkind  would  call  themselves 
''genteel,"  and  many  absurd  stories  are  told  of  the 
determined  ignorance  and  pretense  of  these  would-be 
ladies.  But  in  no  class  above  this  is  a  knowledge  of 
cooking  a  thing  to  be  ashamed  of ;  in  England,  indeed, 
so  far  from  that  being  the  case,  indifference  to  the  sub- 
ject, or  lack  of  understanding  and  taste  for  certain  dishes 
is  looked  upon  as  a  sort  of  proof  of  want  of  breeding. 
Not  to  like  curry,  macaroni,  or  parmesan,  pate  de  fois 
gras,  mushrooms,  and  such  like,  is  a  sign  that  you  have 
not  been  all  your  life  accustomed  to  good  living.  Mr. 
Hardy,  in  his  "  Pair  of  Blue  Eyes,"  cleverly  hits  this 
prejudice  when  he  makes  Mr.  Swancourt  say,  *'Iknew 
the  fellow  wasn't  a  gentleman;  he  had  no  acquired  tastes, 
never  took  Worcestershire  sauce." 

Abroad  many  women  of  high  rank  and  culture  de- 
vote a  good  deal  of  time  to  a  thorough  understanding 
of  the  subject.  We  have  a  lady  of  the  "  lordly  line  of 
proud  St.  Clair"  writing  for  us  ''Dainty  Dishes,"  and 
doing  it  with  a  zest  that  shows  she  enjoys  her  work, 
although  she  does  once  in  a  while  forget  something  she 
ought  to  have  mentioned,  and  later  still  we  have  Miss 
Rose  Coles  writing  the  "Official  Handbook  of  Cookery." 

But  it  is  in  graceful,  refined  France  that  cookery  is 
and  has  been,  a  pet  art.  Any  bill  of  fare  or  French 
cookery  book  will  betray  to  a  thoughtful  reader  the  at- 
tention given  to  the  subject  by  the  wittiest,  gayest,  and 
most  beautiful  women,  and  the  greatest  men.  The  high- 
sounding  names  attached  to  French  standard  dishes  are 
no  mere  caprice  or  homage  of  a  French  cook  to  the  great  in 
the  land,  but  actually  point  out  their  inventor.  Thus 
Bechamel  was  invented  by  the  Marquis  de  Bechamel,  as 
a  sauce  for  codfish  ;  while  Filets  de  La^pcreau  a  la 


8  Culture  and  Cooking. 

Berry  were  invented  by  the  Duchess  de  Berry,  daughter 
of  the  regent  Orleans,  who  himself  invented  Fain  a  la 
d"*  Orleans,  while  to  Richelieu  we  are  indebted  for  hun- 
dreds of  dishes  besides  the  renowned  mayonnaise. 

Cailles  a  la  Mirepois,  Chartreuse  a  la  Mauconseil, 
Poulets  a  la  Villeroy,  betray  the  tastes  of  the  three  great 
ladies  whose  name  they  bear. 

But  not  in  courts  alone  has  the  art  had  its  devotees. 
Almost  every  great  name  in  French  literature  brings  to 
mind  something  its  owner  said  or  did  about  cooking. 
Dumas,  who  was  a  prince  of  cooks,  and  of  whom  it  is 
related  that  in  1860,  when  living  at  Yarennes,  St.  Maur, 
dividing  his  time,  as  usual,  between  cooking  and  litera- 
ture (LorsquHl  ne  faisait  pas  sauter  un  roman,  il 
faisait  sauter  des  petits  oignons),  on  Mount joye,  a 
young  artist  friend  and  neighbor,  going  to  see  him,  he 
cooked  dinner  for  him.  Going  into  the  poultry  yard, 
after  donning  a  white  apron,  he  wrung  the  neck  of  a 
chicken;  then  to  the  kitchen  garden  for  vegetables, 
which  he  peeled  and  washed  himself ;  lit  the  fire,  got 
butter  and  flour  ready,  put  on  his  saucepans,  then  cooked, 
stirred,  tasted,  seasoned  until  dinner  time.  Then  he 
entered  in  triumph,  and  announced,  ^'  Le  diner  est 
servi."  For  six  months  he  passed  three  or  four  days  a 
week  cooking  for  Mountjoye.  This  novelist's  book  says, 
in  connection  with  the  fact  that  great  cooks  in  France 
have  been  men  of  literary  culture,  and  literary  men  often 
fine  cooks,  *'  It  is  not  surprising  that  literary  men  have 
always  formed  the  entourage  of  a  great  chef,  for,  to 
appreciate  thoroughly  all  there  is  in  the  culinary  art, 
none  are  so  well  able  as  men  of  letters;  accustomed  as 
they  are  to  all  refinements,  they  can  appreciate  better 
than  others  those  of  the  table,"  thus  paying  himself  and 


A  Few  Preliminary  Remarks.  9 

confreres  a  delicate  little  compliment  at  the  expense  of 
the  non-literary  world;  but,  notwithstanding  the  naive 
self-glorification,  he  states  a  fact  that  helps  to  point  my 
moral,  that  indifference  to  cooking  does  not  indicate  re- 
finement, intellect,  or  social  pre-eminence. 

Brillat-Savarin,  grave  judge  as  he  was,  and  abstemi- 
ous eater,  yet  has  written  the  book  of  books  on  the  art 
of  eating.  It  was  he  who  said,  "  Tell  me  what  you  eat, 
I  will  tell  you  what  you  are,"  as  pregnant  with  truth  as 
the  better-known  proverb  it  paraphrases. 

Malherbe  loved  to  watch  his  cook  at  work.  I  think  it 
was  he  who  said,  *'  A  coarse-minded  man  could  never  be 
a  cook,"  and  Charles  Baudelaire,  the  Poe  of  France,  takes 
a  poet's  view  of  our  daily  wants,  when  he  says,  *'  that  an 
ideal  cook  must  have  a  great  deal  of  the  poet's  nature, 
combining  something  of  the  voluptuary  with  the  man 
of  science  learned  in  the  chemical  principles  of  matter;" 
although  he  goes  further  than  we  care  to  follow  when 
he  says,  that  the  question  of  sauces  and  seasoning  re- 
quires "  a  chapter  as  grave  as  ^feuilleton  de  science." 

It  has  been  said  by  foreigners  that  Americans  care 
nothing  for  the  refinements  of  the  table,  but  I  think 
they  do  care.  I  have  known  many  a  woman  in  com- 
fortable circumstances  long  to  have  a  good  table,  many 
a  man  aspire  to  better  things,  and  if  he  could  only  get 
them  at  home  would  pay  any  money.  But  the  getting 
them  at  home  is  the  difficulty ;  on  a  table  covered  with 
exquisite  linen,  glass,  and  silver,  whose  presiding  queen 
is  more  likely  than  not  a  type  of  the  American  lady — 
graceful,  refined,  and  witty — on  such  a  table,  with  such 
surroundings,  will  come  the  plentiful,  coarse,  common- 
place dinner. 

The  chief  reason  for  this  is  lack  of  knowledge  on  the 
1* 


lO  Culture  and  Cooking. 

part  of  our  ladies:  know  how  to  do  a  thing  yourself,  and 
you  will  get  it  well  done  by  others.  But  how  are  many 
of  them  to  know  ?  The  daughters  of  the  wealthy  in 
this  country  often  marry  struggling  men,  and  they  know 
less  about  domestic  economy  than  ladies  of  the  higher 
ranks  abroad;  not  because  English  or  French  ladies  take 
more  part  in  housekeeping,  but  because  they  are  at  home 
all  their  lives.  Ladies  of  the  highest  rank  never  go  to  a 
boarding  or  any  other  school,  and  these  are  the  women 
who,  with  some  few  exceptions,  know  best  how  things 
should  be  done.  They  are  at  home  listening  to  criti- 
cisms from  papa,  who  is  an  epicure  perhaps,  on  the 
shortcomings  of  his  own  table,  or  his  neighbors';  from 
mamma,  as  to  what  the  soup  lacks,  why  cook  is  not  a 
^^  cordon  Ueu"  etc.,  while  our  girls  are  at  school,  far 
away  from  domestic  comments,  deep  in  the  agonies  of 
algebra  perhaps  ;  and  directly  they  leave  school,  in  many 
cases  they  marry.  As  a  preparation  for  the  state  of 
matrimony  most  of  them  learn  how  to  make  cake  and 
preserves,  and  the  very  excellence  of  their  attainments 
in  that  way  proves  how  easy  it  would  be  for  them,  with 
their  dainty  fingers  and  good  taste,  to  far  excel  their  Eu- 
ropean cousins  in  that  art  which  a  French  writer  says  is 
based  on  '^reason,  health,  common  sense,  and  sound  taste." 
Here  let  me  say,  I  do  not  by  any  means  advocate  a 
woman,  who  can  afford  to  pay  a  first-rate  cook,  avoiding 
the  expense  by  cooking  herself  ;  on  the  contrary,  I  think 
no  woman  is  justified  in  doing  work  herself  that  she  has 
the  means  given  her  to  get  done  by  employing  others. 
I  have  no  praise  for  the  economical  woman,  who,  from 
a  desire  to  save,  does  her  own  work  without  necessity  for 
economy.  It  is  not  her  work;  the  moment  she  can  afford 
to  employ  others  it  is  the  work  of  some  less  fortunate  per- 


A  Few  Preliminary  Remarks,  li 

son.  But  in  this  country,  it  often  happens  that  a  good 
cook  is  not  to  be  found  for  money,  although  the  raw  ma- 
terial of  which  one  might  be  made  is  much  oftener  at 
hand.  And  if  ladies  would  only  practice  the  culinary  art 
with  as  much,  nay,  half  as  much  assiduity  as  they  give  to 
a  new  pattern  in  crochet ;  devote  as  much  time  to  attain- 
ing perfection  in  one  dish  or  article  of  food,  be  it  per- 
fect bread,  or  some  French  dish  which  father,  brother, 
or  husband  goes  to  Delmonico's  to  enjoy,  as  they  do  to 
the  crochet  tidies  or  embroidered  rugs  with  which  they 
decorate  their  drawing-rooms,  they  could  then  take  the 
material,  in  the  shape  of  any  ambitious  girl  they  may 
meet  with,  and  make  her  a  fine  cook.  In  the  time  they 
take  to  make  a  dozen  tidies,  they  would  have  a  dozen 
dishes  at  their  fingers'  ends;  and  let  me  tell  you,  the 
woman  who  can  cook  a  dozen  things,  outside  of  pre- 
serves, in  a  perfect  manner  is  a  rarity  here,  and  a  good 
cook  anywhere,  for,  by  the  time  the  dozen  are  accom- 
plished, she  will  have  learned  so  much  of  the  art  of  cook- 
ing that  all  else  will  come  easy.  One  good  soup,  bouil- 
lon, and  you  have  the  foundation  of  all  others ;  two 
good  sauces,  white  sauce  and  brown,  ^'les  sauces  meres  " 
as  the  French  call  them  (mothers  of  all  other  sauces), 
and  all  others  are  matters  of  detail.  Leam  to  make  one 
kind  of  roll  perfectly,  as  light,  plump,  and  crisp  as 
Delmonico's,  and  all  varieties  are  at  your  fingers'  ends; 
you  can  have  kringles,  Vienna  rolls,  Kreuznach  horns, 
Yorkshire  tea  cakes,  English  Sally  Lunns  and  Bath 
buns ;  all  are  then  as  easy  to  make  as  common  soda  bis- 
cuit. In  fact,  in  cooking,  as  in  many  other  things,  "  ce 
rCest  que  le  premier  jJCis  que  coiite;  "  failures  are  almost 
certain  at  the  beginning,  but  a  failure  is  often  a  step 
toward  success — if  we  only  know  the  reason  of  the  failure. 


CHAPTER  11. 

OK  BREAD. 

Of  all  articles  of  food,  bread  is  perhaps  the  one  about 
which  most  has  been  written,  most  instruction  given, 
and  most  failures  made.  Yet  what  adds  more  to  the 
elegance  of  a  table  than  exquisite  bread  or  breads,  and 
— unless  you  live  in  a  large  city  and  depend  on  the  baker 
— what  so  rare  ?  A  lady  who  is  very  proud  of  her  table, 
and  justly  so,  said  to  me  quite  lately,  "  I  cannot  under- 
stand how  it  is  we  never  have  really  fine  home-made 
bread.  I  have  tried  many  recipes,  following  them 
closely,  and  I  can't  achieve  anything  but  a  common- 
place loaf  with  a  thick,  hard  crust ;  and  as  for  rolls, 
they  are  my  despair.  I  have  wasted  eggs,  butter,  and 
patience  so  often  that  I  have  determined  to  give  them 
up,  but  a  fine  loaf  I  will  try  for." 

'*  And  when  you  achieve  the  fine  loaf,  you  may  revel 
in  home-made  rolls, "  I  answered. 

And  so  I  advise  every  one  first  to  make  perfect  bread, 
light,  white,  crisp,  and  thin-crusted,  that  rarest  thing 
in  home-made  bread. 

I  have  read  over  many  recipes  for  bread,  and  am  con- 
vinced that  when  the  time  allowed  for  rising  is  specified, 
it  is  invariably  too  short.  One  standard  book  directs 
you  to  leave  your  sponge  two  hours,  and  the  bread  when 
made  up  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  This  recipe  strictly 
followed  must  result  in  heavy,  tough  bread.     As  bread 

13 


On  Bread,  13 

is  so  important,  and  so  many  fail,  I  will  give  my  own 
method  from  beginning  to  end  ;  not  that  there  are  not 
numberless  good  recipes,  but  simply  because  they  fre- 
quently need  adapting  to  circumstances,  and  altering  a 
recipe  is  one  of  the  things  a  tyro  fears  to  do. 

I  make  a  sponge  over  night,  using  a  dried  yeast-cake 
soaked  in  a  pint  of  warm  water,  to  which  I  add  a  spoon- 
ful of  salt,  and,  if  the  weather  is  warm,  as  much  soda  as 
will  lie  on  a  dime  ;  make  this  into  a  stiff  batter  with 
flour — it  may  take  a  quart  or  less,  flour  varies  so  much, 
to  give  a  rule  is  impossible  ;  but  if,  after  standing,  the 
sponge  has  a  watery  appearance,  make  it  thicker  by 
sprinkling  in  more  flour,  beat  hard  a  few  minutes,  and 
cover  with  a  cloth — in  winter  keep  a  piece  of  thick  flan- 
nel for  the  purpose,  as  a  chill  is  fatal  to  your  sponge— 
and  set  in  a  warm  place  free  from  draughts. 

The  next  morning,  when  the  sponge  is  quite  light— 
that  is  to  say,  at  least  twice  the  bulk  it  was,  and  like  a 
honeycomb — take  two  quarts  of  flour,  more  or  less,  as 
you  require,  but  I  recommend  at  first  a  small  baking, 
and  this  will  make  three  small  loaves  ;  in  winter,  flour 
should  be  dried  and  warmed ;  put  it  in  your  mixing 
bowl,  and  turn  the  sponge  into  a  hole  in  the  center. 
Have  ready  some  water,  rather  more  than  lukewarm,  but 
not  liot.  Add  it  gradually,  stirring  your  flour  into  the 
sponge  at  the  same  time.  The  great  fault  in  making 
bread  is  getting  the  dough  too  stiff  ;  it  should  be  as  soft 
as  possible,  without  being  at  all  sticky  or  wet.  Now 
knead  it  with  both  hands  from  all  sides  into  the  center  ; 
keep  this  motion,  occasionally  dipping  your  hands  into 
the  flour  if  the  dough  sticks,  but  do  not  add  more  flour 
unless  the  paste  sticks  very  much  ;  if  you  have  the  right 
consistency  it  will  be  a  smooth  mass,  very  soft  to  the 


14  Culture  and  Cooking, 

touch,  yet  not  sticky,  but  this  may  not  be  attained  at  a 
first  mixing  without  adding  flour  by  degrees.  When 
you  have  kneaded  the  dough  until  it  leaves  the  bowl  all 
round,  set  it  in  a  warm  place  to  rise.  When  it  is  well 
risen,  feels  very  soft  and  warm  to  the  touch,  and  is  twice  its 
bulk,  knead  it  once  more  thoroughly,  then  put  it  in  tins 
either  floured,  and  the  flour  not  adhering  shaken  out,  or 
buttered,  putting  in  each  a  piece  of  dough  half  the  size 
you  intend  your  loaf  to  be.  Now  everything  depends  on 
your  oven.  Many  people  bake  their  bread  slowly,  leav- 
ing it  in  the  oven  a  long  time,  and  this  causes  a  thick, 
hard  crust.  When  baked  in  the  modern  iron  oven, 
quick  baking  is  necessary.  Let  the  oven  be  quite  hot, 
then  put  a  little  ball  of  paste  in,  and  if  it  browns  palely 
in  seven  to  ten  minutes  it  is  about  right ;  if  it  burns,  it 
is  too  hot ;  open  the  damper  ten  minutes.  Your  bread, 
after  it  is  in  the  tins,  will  rise  much  more  quickly  than 
the  first  time.  Let  it  get  light,  but  not  too  light — tiuice 
its  tuXk  is  a  good  rule  ;  but  if  it  is  light  before  your  oven 
is  ready,  and  thus  in  danger  of  getting  too  porous,  work 
it  down  with  your  hand,  it  will  not  harm  it,  although  it 
is  better  so  to  manage  that  the  oven  waits  for  the  bread 
rather  than  the  bread  for  the  oven.  A  small  loaf — and 
by  all  means  make  them  small  until  you  have  gained 
experience — will  not  take  more  than  three  quarters  of  an 
hour  to  bake;  when  a  nice  yellow  brown,  take  it  out,  turn 
it  out  of  the  tin  into  a  cloth,  and  tap  the  bottom  ;  if  it  is 
crisp  and  smells  cooked,  the  loaf  is  done.  Once  the  bot- 
tom is  brown  it  need  remain  no  longer.  Should  that, 
however,  from  fault  of  your  oven,  be  not  brown,  but 
soft  and  white,  you  must  put  it  back  in  the  oven,  the 
bottom  upwards.  An  oven  that  does  not  bake  at  the 
bottom  will,  however,  be  likely  to  spoil  your  bread.     It 


On  Bread.  15 

is  sometimes  caused  by  a  careless  servant  leaving  a  col- 
lection of  ashes  underneath  it ;  satisfy  yourself  that  all 
the  flues  are  perfectly  clean  and  clear  before  beginning 
to  bake,  and  if  it  still  refuses  to  do  its  duty,  change  it, 
for  you  will  have  nothing  but  loss  and  vexation  of  spirit 
while  you  have  it  in  use.  I  think  you  will  find  this 
bread  white,  evenly  porous  (not  with  small  holes  in  one 
part  and  caverns  in  another ;  if  it  is  so  you  have  made 
your  dough  too  stiff,  and  it  is  not  sufficiently  kneaded), 
and  with  a  thin,  crisp  crust.  Bread  will  surely  fail  to 
rise  at  all  if  you  have  scalded  the  yeast ;  the  water  must 
never  be  too  hot.  In  winter,  if  it  gets  chilled,  it  will 
only  rise  slowly,  or  not  at  all,  and  in  using  baker's  or 
German  yeast  take  care  that  it  is  not  stale,  which  will 
cause  heavy,  irregular  bread. 

In  making  bread  with  compressed  yeast  proceed  in 
exactly  the  same  way,  excepting  that  the  sponge  will  not 
need  to  be  set  over  night,  unless  you  want  to  bake  very- 
early. 

If  you  have  once  produced  bread  to  your  satisfaction 
you  will  find  no  difficulty  in  making  rolls.  Proceed  as 
follows : 

Take  a  piece  of  the  dough  from  your  baking  after  it 
has  risen  once.  To  a  piece  as  large  as  a  man's  fist  take 
a  large  tablespoonful  of  butter  and  a  little  powdered 
sugar ;  work  them  into  the  dough,  put  it  in  a  bowl,  cover 
it,  and  set  it  in  a  warm  place  to  rise— a  shelf  behind  the 
stove  is  best ;  if  you  make  this  at  the  same  time  as 
your  bread,  you  will  find  it  takes  longer  to  rise ;  the 
butter  causes  that  difference;  when  very  light,  much 
lighter  than  your  bread  should  be,  take  your  hand  and 
push  it  down  till  it  is  not  larger  than  when  you  put  it 
in  the  bowl ;  let  it  rise  again,  and  again  push  it  do^vn. 


1 6  Culture  and  Cooking. 

but  not  so  thoroughly ;  do  this  once  or  twice  more,  and 
you  have  the  secret  of  light  rolls.  You  will  find  them  rise 
very  quickly,  after  once  or  twice  pushing  down.  When 
they  have  risen  the  third  or  fourth  time,  take  a  little 
butter  on  your  hands,  and  break  off  small  pieces  about 
the  size  of  a  walnut  and  roll  them  round.  Either  put 
them  on  a  tin  close  together,  to  be  broken  apart,  or  an 
inch  or  two  from  each  other,  in  which  case  work  in  a 
little  more  flour,  and  cut  a  cleft  on  the  top,  and  once  more 
set  to  rise  ;  half  an  hour  will  be  long  enough  generally, 
but  in  this  case  you  must  judge  for  yourself,  they  some- 
times take  an  hour  ;  if  they  look  swelled  very  much  and 
smooth  they  will  be  ready.  Have  a  nice  hot  oven,  and 
bake  for  twelve  to  fifteen  minutes. 

Add  a  little  more  sugar  to  your  dough  and  an  Qgg,  go 
through  the  same  process,  brush  them  over  with  sugar 
dissolved  in  milk,  and  you  will  have  delicious  rusks. 

The  above  is  my  own  method  of  making  rolls,  and  the 
simplest  I  know  of ;  but  there  are  numbers  of  other 
recipes  given  in  cookery  books  which  would  be  just  as 
good  if  the  exact  directions  for  letting  them  rise  were 
given.  As  a  test — and  every  experiment  you  try  will  be 
so  much  gained  in  your  experience — follow  the  recipe 
given  for  rolls  in  any  good  cookery  book,  take  part  of 
the  dough  and  let  it  rise  as  therein  directed,  and  bake, 
set  the  other  part  to  rise  as  /  direct,  and  notice  the  dif- 
ference. 

Keeuzn"ACH  Hoeks. — Either  take  a  third  of  the 
dough  made  for  bread  with  three  quarts  of  flour,  or  set 
a  sponge  with  a  pint  of  flour  and  a  yeast-cake  soaked  in 
half  a  pint  of  warm  water  or  milk,  making  it  into  a  stif- 
fish  dough  with  another  pint  of  flour;  then  add  four 
ounces  of  butter,  a  little  sugar,  and  two  eggs;  work  well. 


On  Bread,  17 

If  you  nse  the  bread  dough,  you  will  need  to  dredge  in 
a  little  more  flour  on  account  of  the  eggs,  but  not  very 
much;  then  set  to  rise  as  for  rolls,  work  it  down  twice  or 
thrice,  then  turn  the  dough  out  on  the  molding  board 
lightly  floured,  roll  it  as  you  would  pie-crust  into  pieces 
six  inches  square,  and  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  make  two 
sharp,  quick  cuts  across  it  from  comer  to  comer,  and  you 
will  have  from  each  square  four  three-cornered  pieces  of 
paste;  spread  each  thinly  with  soft  butter,  flour  lightly, 
and  roll  up  very  lightly  from  the  wide  side,  taking  care 
that  it  is  not  squeezed  together  in  any  way  ;  lay  them  on 
a  tin  with  the  side  on  which  the  point  comes  uppermost, 
and  bend  round  in  the  form  of  a  horseshoe;  these  will 
take  some  time  to  rise;  when  they  have  swollen  much 
and  look  light,  brush  them  over  with  white  of  Q%g 
(not  beaten)  or  milk  and  butter,  and  bake  in  a  good 
oven. 

Kkii^'gles  are  made  from  the  same  recipe,  but  with 
another  o^g'g  and  two  ounces  of  sugar  (powdered)  added 
to  the  dough  when  first  set  to  rise;  then,  when  well  risen 
two  or  three  times,  instead  of  rolling  with  a  pin  as  for 
horns,  break  off  pieces,  roll  between  your  hands  as  thick 
as  your  finger,  and  form  into  figure  eights,  rings,  fingers; 
or  take  three  strips,  flour  and  roll  them  as  thick  as  your 
finger,  tapering  at  each  end  ;  lay  them  on  the  board, 
fasten  the  three  together  at  one  end,  and  then  lay  one 
over  the  other  in  a  plait,  fasten  the  other  end,  and  set  to 
rise,  bake;  when  done,  brush  over  with  sugar  dissolved  in 
milk,  and  sprinkle  with  sugar. 

All  these  breads  are  delicious  for  breakfast,  and  may 
easily  be  had  without  excessive  early  rising  if  the  sponge 
is  set  in  the  morning,  dough  made  in  the  afternoon, 
and  the  rising  and  working  done  in  the  evening ;  when. 


i8  Culture  and  Cooking. 

instead  of  making  up  into  rolls,  horns,  or  kringles,  pnsh 
the  dougli  down  thoroughly,  cover  with  a  damp  folded 
cloth,  and  put  in  a  very  cold  place  if  in  summer — not  on 
ice  of  course — then  next  morning,  as  soon  as  the  fire  is 
alight,  mold,  but  do  not  push  down  any  more,  put  in  a 
yery  warm  spot,  and  when  light,  bake. 

In  summer,  as  I  have  said,  I  think  it  safest,  to  prevent 
danger  of  souring,  to  put  a  little  soda  in  the  sponge  for 
bread  ;  and  for  rolls,  or  anything  requiring  to  rise  sev- 
eral times,  it  is  an  essential  precaution. 

Brioche. — I  suppose  the  very  name  of  this  delectable 
French  dainty  will  call  up  in  the  mind's  eye  of  many 
who  read  this  book  that  great  *^  little"  shop,  Au  Grand 
Brioche,  on  the  Boulevarde  Poissoniere,  where,  on  Sun- 
day afternoons,  scores  of  boys  from  the  Lycees  form 
en  queue  with  the  general  public,  waiting  the  hour 
when  the  piles  of  golden  brioche  shall  be  ready  to  ex- 
change for  their  eager  sous.  But  I  venture  to  say,  a 
really  fine  brioche  is  rarely  eaten  on  this  side  the  Atlan- 
tic. They  being  a  luxury  welcome  to  all,  and  especially 
aromatic  of  Paris,  I  tried  many  times  to  make  them, 
obtaining  for  that  purpose  recipes  from  French  friends, 
and  from  standard  French  books,  but  never  succeeded 
in  producing  the  ideal  brioche  until  I  met  with  Gouf- 
fe's  great  book,  the  '^  Livre  de  Cuisine,''^  after  reading 
which,  I  may  here  say,  all  secrets  of  the  French  kitchen 
are  laid  bare  ;  no  effort  is  spared  to  make  everything 
plain,  from  the  humble  pot-au-feu  to  the  most  gorgeous 
monumental  plat.  And  I  would  refer  any  one  who  wants 
to  become  proficient  in  any  French  dish,  to  that  book, 
feeling  sure  that,  in  following  strictly  the  directions, 
there  will  be  no  failure.  It  is  the  one  book  I  have  met 
with  on  the  subject  in  which  no  margin  is  left  for  your 


On  Bread.  19 

own  knowledge,  if  you  have  it,  to  fill  up.     But  to  the 
brioche. 

PAEIS   JOCKEY-CLUB   EECIPE  FOR  BRIOCHE. 

Sift  one  pound  of  flour,  take  one  fourth  of  it,  and  add 
rather  more  than  half  a  cake  of  compressed  yeast,  dis- 
solved in  half  a  gill  of  warm  water,  make  into  a  sponge 
with  a  very  little  more  water,  put  it  in  a  warm  place ; 
when  it  is  double  its  volume  take  the  rest  of  the  flour, 
make  a  hole  in  the  center,  and  put  in  it  an  equal  quantity 
of  salt  and  sugar,  about  a  teaspoonful,  and  two  tablespoon- 
fuls  of  water  to  dissolve  them.  Three  quarters  of  a  pound 
of  butter  and  four  eggs,  beat  well,  then  add  another  egg, 
beat  again,  and  add  another,  and  so  on  until  seven  have 
been  used ;  the  paste  must  be  soft,  but  not  spread ;  if  too 
firm,  add  another  egg.  Now  mix  this  paste  with  the 
sponge  thoroughly,  beating  until  the  paste  leaves  the 
sides  of  the  bowl,  then  put  it  in  a  crock  and  cover  ;  let 
it  stand  four  hours  in  a  warm  place,  then  turn  it  out  on 
a  board,  spread  it  and  double  it  four  times,  return  it  to 
the  crock,  and  let  it  rise  again  two  hours  ;  repeat  the 
former  process  of  doubling  and  spreading,  and  put  it  in 
a  very  cold  place  for  two  hours,  or  until  you  want  to  use 
it.  Mold  in  any  form  you  like,  but  the  true  brioche  is 
two  pieces,  one  as  large  again  as  the  other  ;  form  the 
large  one  into  a  ball,  make  a  deep  depression  in  the  cen- 
ter, on  which  place  the  smaller  ball,  pressing  it  gently 
in  ;  cut  two  or  three  gashes  round  it  with  a  sharp  knife, 
and  bake  a  beautiful  golden  brown.  These  brioche  are 
such  a  luxury,  and  so  sure  to  come  out  right,  that  the 
trouble  of  making  them  is  well  worth  the  taking,  and 
for  another  reason  :  every  one  knows  the  great  difficulty 
of  making  puff  paste  in  summer,  and  a  short  paste  is 


20  Culture  and  Cooking. 

never  handsome  ;  but  take  a  piece  of  brioclie  paste,  roll 
it  out  thin,  dredge  with  flour,  fold  and  roll  again,  then 
use  as  you  would  pulf  paste ;  if  for  sweet  pastry,  a 
little  powdered  sugar  may  be  sprinkled  through  it  in- 
stead of  dredging  with  flour.  This  makes  a  very  hand- 
some and  delicious  crust.  Or,  another  use  to  which  it 
may  be  put  is  to  roll  it  out,  cut  it  in  rounds,  lay  on 
them  mince-meat,  orange  marmalade,  jam,  or  merely 
sprinkle  with  currants,  chopped  citron,  and  spices,  fold, 
press  the  edges,  and  bake. 

Before  quitting  the  subject  of  breads  I  must  introduce 
a  novelty  which  I  will  call  '^soufflee  bread."  It  is 
quickly  made,  possible  even  when  the  fire  is  poor,  and  so 
delicious  that  I  know  you  will  thank  me  for  making 
you  acquainted  with  it. 

Use  two  or  three  eggs  according  to  size  you  wish,  and 
to  each  egg  a  tablespoonful  of  flour.  Mix  the  yolks 
with  the  flour  and  with  them  a  dessert-spoonful  of  but- 
ter melted,  and  enough  milk  to  make  a  ^eYjtliich  batter, 
work,  add  a  pinch  of  salt  and  a  teaspoonful  of  sugar, 
work  till  quite  smooth,  then  add  the  whites  of  the  eggs 
in  a  firm  froth,  stir  them  in  gently,  and  add  a  quarter 
teaspoonful  of  soda  and  lialf  a  one  of  cream  of  tartar. 
Have  ready  an  iron  frying-pan  (or  an  earthen  one  that 
will  stand  heat  is  better),  made  hot  with  a  tablespoonful 
of  butter  in  it,  also  hot,  but  not  so  hot  as  for  frying. 
Pour  the  batter  (which  should  be  of  the  consistency  of 
sponge  cake  batter)  into  the  pan,  cover  it  with  a  lid 
or  tin  plate,  and  set  it  back  of  the  stove  if  the  fire  is 
hot — if  very  slow  it  may  be  forward  ;  when  well  risen 
and  near  done,  put  it  in  the  oven,  or  if  the  oven 
is  cold  you  may  turn  it  gently,  not  to  deaden  it. 
Serve  when   done   (try  with  a  twig),  the  under  side 


On  Bread.  21 

uppermost;  it  should  be  of  a  fine  golden  brown  and 
look  like  an  omelet.  This  soufflee  bread  is  equally- 
good  halced  in  a  tin  in  which  is  rather  more  butter  than 
enough  to  grease  it ;  the  oven  must  be  very  hot  in- 
deed. Cover  it  for  the  few  minutes  with  a  tin  plate  or 
lid,  to  prevent  it  scorching  before  it  has  risen  ;  when  it 
has  puffed  up  remove  the  lid,  and  allow  it  to  brown,  ten 
to  fifteen  minutes  should  bake  it ;  turn  it  out  as  you 
would  sponge  cake — ^very  carefully,  not  to  deaden  it.  To 
succeed  with  bread  you  must  use  the  very  best  flour. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PASTRY. 

To  MAKE  good  puff  paste  is  a  thing  many  ladies  are 
anxious  to  do,  and  in  which  they  generally  fail,  and  this 
not  so  much  because  they  do  not  make  it  properly,  as 
because  they  handle  it  badly.  A  lady  who  Avas  very 
anxious  to  excel  in  pastry  once  asked  me  to  allow  her  to 
watch  me  make  paste.  I  did  so,  and  explained  that  there 
was  more  in  the  manner  of  using  than  in  the  making 
up.  I  then  gave  her  a  piece  of  my  paste  when  com- 
pleted, and  asked  her  to  cover  some  patty  pans  while  I 
covered  others,  cautioning  her  as  to  the  way  she  must 
cover  them  ;  yet,  when  those  covered  by  her  came  out 
of  the  oven  they  had  not  risen  at  all,  they  were  like  rich 
short  paste  ;  while  my  own,  made  from  the  same  paste, 
were  toppling  over  with  lightness.  I  had,  without  say- 
ing anything,  pressed  my  thumb  slightly  on  one  spot  of 
one  of  mine  ;  in  that  spot  the  paste  had  not  risen  at  all, 
and  I  think  this  practical  demonstration  of  what  I  had 
tried  to  explain  was  more  useful  than  an  hour's  talk 
would  have  been. 

I  will  first  give  my  method  of  making,  which  is  the 
usual  French  way  of  making  ^' feuilletonage.''^  Take 
one  pound  of  butter,  or  half  of  it  lard  ;  press  all  the 
water  out  by  squeezing  it  in  a  cloth  ;  this  is  impor- 
tant, as  the  liquid  in  it  would  wet  your  paste ;  take  a 
third  of  the  butter,  or  butter  and  lard,  and  rub  it  into 

22 


Pastry,  23 

one  pound  of  fine  flour ;  add  no  salt  if  your  butter  is 
salted  ;  then  take  enough  water  (to  which  you  may  add 
the  well-beaten  white  of  an  ^gg,  but  it  is  not  absolutely 
necessary)  to  make  the  flour  into  a  smooth,  firm  dough;  it 
must  not  be  too  stiff,  or  it  will  be  hard  to  roll  out,  or 
too  soft,  or  it  will  never  make  good  paste  ;  it  should  roll 
easily,  yet  not  stick ;  work  it  till  it  is  very  smooth,  then 
roll  it  out  till  it  is  half  an  inch  thick  ;  now  lay  the  whole 
of  the  butter  in  the  center,  fold  one-third  the  paste  over, 
then  the  other  third  ;  it  is  now  folded  in  three,  with  the 
butter  completely  hidden ;  now  turn  the  ends  toward 
you,  and  roll  it  till  it  is  half  an  inch  thick,  taking  care, 
by  rolling  very  evenly,  that  the  butter  is  not  pressed  out 
at  the  other  end  ;  now  you  have  a  piece  of  paste  about 
two  feet  long,  and  not  half  that  width  ;  flour  it  lightly, 
and  fold  over  one  third  and  under  one  third,  which  will 
almost  bring  it  to  a  square  again  ;  turn  it  round  so  that 
what  was  the  side  is  now  the  end,  and  roll.  Most  likely 
now  the  butter  will  begin  to  break  through,  in  which 
case  fold  it,  after  flouring  lightly,  in  three,  as  before,  and 
put  it  on  a  dish  on  the  ice,  covering  it  with  a  damp  cloth. 
You  may  now  either  leave  it  for  an  hour  or  two,  or  till 
next  day.  Paste  made  the  day  before  it  is  used  is  much 
better  and  easier  to  manage,  and  in  winter  it  may  be  kept 
for  four  or  five  days  in  a  cold  place,  using  from  it  as 
required. 

"When  ready  to  use  your  paste  finish  the  making  by 
rolling  it  out,  dredging  a  little  flour,  and  doubling  it  in 
three  as  before,  and  roll  it  out  thin  ;  do  this  until  from 
first  to  last  it  has  been  so  doubled  and  rolled  seven  times. 

Great  cooks  differ  on  one  or  two  points  in  making 
pastry ;  for  instance,  Soyer  directs  you  to  put  the  yolk 
of  an  ^gg  instead  of  the  white,  and  a  squeeze  of  lemon 


24  Culture  ajtd  Cooking. 

juice  into  the  flour,  and  expressly  forbids  you  to  work  it 
before  adding  the  mass  of  butter,  while  Jules  Gouffe 
says,  **work  it  until  smooth  and  shining."  I  cannot 
pretend  to  decide  between  these  differing  doctors,  but  I 
pursue  the  method  I  have  given  and  always  have  light 
pastry.  And  now  to  the  handling  of  it :  It  must  only  be 
touched  by  the  lightest  fingers,  every  cut  must  be  made 
with  a  sharp  knife,  and  done  with  one  quick  stroke  so  that 
the  paste  is  not  dragged  at  all ;  in  covering  a  pie  dish  or 
patty  pan,  you  are  commonly  directed  to  mold  the  paste 
over  it  as  thin  as  possible,  which  conveys  the  idea  that  the 
paste  is  to  be  pressed  over  and  so  made  thin  ;  this  would 
destroy  the  finest  paste  in  the  world ;  roll  it  thin,  say 
for  small  tartlets,  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick, 
for  a  pie  a  trifle  thicker,  then  lay  the  dish  or  tin  to  be 
covered  on  the  paste,  and  cut  out  with  a  knife,  dipped  in 
hot  water  or  flour,  a  piece  a  little  larger  than  the  mold, 
then  line  with  the  piece  you  have  cut,  touching  it  as  little 
as  possible  ;  press  only  enough  to  make  the  paste  adhere 
to  the  bottom,  but  on  no  account  press  the  border;  to 
test  the  necessity  of  avoiding  this,  gently  press  one  spot 
on  a  tart,  before  putting  it  in  the  oven,  only  so  much  as 
many  people  always  do  in  making  pie,  and  watch  the 
result.  When  your  tartlets  or  pies  are  made,  take  each 
up  on  your  left  hand,  and  with  a  sharp  knife  dipped  in 
flour  trim  it  round  quickly.  To  make  the  cover  of  a 
pie  adhere  to  the  under  crust,  lay  the  forefinger  of  your 
right  hand  lengthwise  round  the  border,  but  as  far  from 
the  edge  as  you  can,  thus  forming  a  groove  for  the  syrups, 
and  pressing  the  cover  on  at  the  same  time.  A  word 
here  about  fruit  pies  :  Pile  the  fruit  high  in  the  center, 
leaving  a  space  all  round  the  sides  almost  bare  of  fruit, 
when  the  cover  is  on  press  gently  the  paste,  as  I  have 


Pastry,  25 

explained,  into  this  groove,  then  make  two  or  three  deep 
holes  in  the  groove  ;  the  juice  will  boil  out  of  these  holes 
and  run  round  this  groove,  instead  of  boiling  out  through 
the  edges  and  wasting. 

This  is  the  pastry-cook's  way  of  making  pies,  and  makes 
a  much  handsomer  one  than  the  usual  flat  method, 
besides  saving  your  syrup.  To  ornament  fruit  pies  or 
tartlets,  whip  the  white  of  an  ^gg,  and  stir  in  as  much 
powdered  sugar  as  will  make  a  thin  meringue — a  large 
tablespoonful  is  usually  enough — then  when  your  pies  or 
tartlets  are  baked,  take  them  from  the  oven,  glaze  with 
the  Qgg  and  sugar,  and  return  to  the  oven,  leaving  the 
door  open  ;  when  it  has  set  into  a  frosty  icing  they  are 
ready  to  serve. 

It  is  worth  while  to  accomplish  puff  paste,  for  so 
many  dainty  trifles  may  be  made  with  it,  which,  at- 
tempted with  the  ordinary  short  paste,  would  be  unsight- 
ly.   Some  of  these  that  seem  to  me  novel  I  will  describe. 

Eissolettes  are  made  with  trimmings  of  puff  paste;  if 
you  have  about  a  quarter  of  a  pound  left,  roll  it  out  very 
thin,  about  as  thick  as  a  fifty-cent  piece;  put  about  half 
a  spoonful  of  marmalade  or  jam  on  it,  in  places  about 
an  inch  apart,  wet  lightly  round  each,  and  place  a  piece 
of  paste  over  all ;  take  a  small  round  cutter  as  large  as 
a  dollar,  and  press  round  the  part  where  the  marma- 
lade or  jam  is  with  the  thick  part  of  the  cutter;  then  cut 
them  out  with  a  cutter  a  size  larger,  lay  them  on  a  bak- 
ing tin,  brush  over  with  white  of  Qgg-,  then  cut  some  little 
rings  the  size  of  a  quarter  dollar,  put  one  on  each,  Qgg 
over  again,  and  bake  twenty  minutes  in  a  nice  hot  oven; 
then  sift  white  sugar  all  over,  put  them  back  in  the  oven 
to  glaze  ;  a  little  red  currant  jelly  in  each  ring  looks 
pretty  ;  serve  in  the  form  of  a  pyramid. 


26  Culture  and  Cooking, 

Pastbt  Tablets.— Cut  strips  of  paste  three  inches 
and  a  half  long,  and  an  inch  and  a  half  wide,  and  as 
thick  as  a  twenty-five  cent  piece  ;  lay  on  half  of  them 
a  thin  filmy  layer  of  jam  or  marmalade,  not  jelly;  then 
on  each  lay  a  strip  without  jam,  and  bake  in  a  quick 
oven.  When  the  paste  is  well  risen  and  brown,  take 
them  out,  glaze  them  with  white  of  ^gg  and  sugar, 
and  sprinkle  chopped  almonds  over  them ;  return  to 
the  oven  till  the  glazing  is  set  and  the  almonds  just 
colored;  serve  them  hot  or  cold  on  a  napkin  piled  log- 
cabin  fashion. 

Feangipan"e  Taetlets. — One  quarter  pint  of  cream, 
four  yolks  of  eggs,  two  ounces  of  flour,  three  macaroons, 
four  tablespoonfuls  of  powdered  sugar,  the  peel  of  a 
grated  lemon,  and  a  little  citron  cut  very  fine,  a  little 
brandy  and  orange-flower  water.  Put  all  the  ingredi- 
ents, except  the  eggs,  in  a  saucepan — of  course  you  will 
mix  the  flour  smooth  in  the  cream  first — let  them 
come  to  a  boil  slowly,  stirring  to  prevent  lumps ; 
when  the  flour  smells  cooked,  take  it  off  the  fire  for 
a  minute,  then  stir  the  beaten  yolks  of  eggs  into  it. 
Stand  the  saucepan  in  another  of  boiling  water  and  re- 
turn to  the  stove,  stirring  till  the  eggs  seem  done — about 
five  minutes,  if  the  water  boils  all  the  time.  Line  patty 
pans  with  puff  paste,  and  fill  with  frangipane  and  bake. 
Ornament  with  chopped  almonds  and  meringue,  or  not, 
as  you  please. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  make  fine  puff  paste  in  warm 
weather,  and  almost  impossible  without  ice  ;  for  this 
reason  I  think  the  brioche  paste  preferable;  but  if  it 
is  necessary  to  have  it  for  any  purpose,  you  must  take 
the  following  precautions  : 

Have  your  water  iced";  have  your  butter  as  firm  as 


Pastry.  27 

possible  by  being  kept  on  ice  till  the  last  moment ;  make 
the  paste  in  the  coolest  place  you  have,  and  under  the 
breeze  of  an  open  window,  if  possible  ;  make  it  the  day 
before  you  use  it,  and  put  it  on  the  ice  between  every 
"turn,"  as  each  rolling  out  is  technically  called;  then 
leave  it  on  the  ice,  as  you  use  it,  taking  pieces  from  it  as 
you  need  them,  so  that  the  warmth  cannot  soften  the 
whole  at  once,  when  it  would  become  quite  unmanage- 
able. The  condition  of  the  oven  is  a  very  important 
matter,  and  I  cannot  do  better  than  transcribe  the  rules 
given  by  Gouffe,  by  which  you  may  test  its  fitness  for 
any  purpose : 

Put  half  a  sheet  of  writing  paper  in  the  oven;  if  it 
catches  fire  it  is  too  hot;  open  the  dampers  and  wait 
ten  minutes,  when  put  in  another  piece  of  paper  ;  if  it 
blackens  it  is  still  too  hot.  Ten  minutes  later  put  in  a 
third  piece ;  if  it  gets  darh  hrown  the  oven  is  right  for 
all  small  pastry.  Called  ''darh  hrown  paper  heaV^ 
Light  hrown  paper  heat  is  suitable  for  vol-au-vents  or 
fruit  pies.  Dark  yellow  paper  heat  for  large  pieces  of 
pastry  or  meat  pies,  pound  cake,  bread,  etc.  Light  yel- 
low paper  heat  for  sponge  cake,  meringues,  etc. 

To  obtain  these  various  degrees  of  heat,  you  try  paper 
every  tsn  minutes  till  the  heat  required  for  your  purpose 
is  attained.  But  remember  that  "  light  yellow  "  means 
the  paper  only  tinged  ;  "dark  yellow,"  the  paper  the 
color  of  ordinary  pine  wood;  ^Might  brown"  is  only  a 
shade  darker,  about  the  color  of  nice  pie-crust,  and  dark 
brown  a  shade  darker,  by  no  means  coffee  color. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WHAT  TO  HAVE  lif  YOUE  STOEE-BOOM. 

One  great  trouble  with  many  young  housekeepers  is 
betrayed  by  the  common  remark,  '^  Cookery  books  al- 
ways require  so  many  things  that  one  never  has  in  the 
house,  and  they  coolly  order  you  to  '  moisten  with  gravy,' 
*  take  a  little  gravy,'  as  if  you  had  only  to  go  to  the  pump 
and  get  it."  It  is  very  true  that  economy  in  cooking  is 
much  aided  by  having  a  supply  of  various  condiments  ; 
warmed-over  meat  may  then  be  converted  into  a  delicious 
little  entree  with  little  trouble.  I  would  recommend, 
therefore,  any  one  who  is  in  earnest  about  reforming 
her  dinner  table  to  begin  by  expending  a  few  dollars  in 
the  following  articles  : 


1  bottle  of  capers, 

1  *'    olives, 

1  **    gherkins, 

1  *'    soy, 

1  "    anchovies, 

1  **    tarragon  vinegar. 


bottle  of  claret, 

**    white  wine, 

*'    sherry  for  cooking, 

"    brandy, 

"    Harvey  sauce, 

**    walnut  ketchup. 


And  a  package  of  compressed  vegetables  and  a  few  bay  leaves. 

Ten  dollars  thus  spent  may  seem  a  good  deal  of  money 
to  a  young  housewife  trying  to  make  her  husband's  salary 
go  as  far  as  it  will ;  but  I  assure  her  it  is  in  the  end  an 
economy,  especially  in  a  small  family,  who  are  so  apt  to 
get  tired  of  seeing  the  same  thing,  that  it  has  to  be 


What  to  Have  in   Your  Store-room.  29 

thrown  or  given  away.  With  these  condiments  and 
others  I  have  yet  to  mention  you  will  have  no  trouble 
in  using  every  scrap  ;  not  using  it  and  eating  it  from  a 
sense  of  duty,  and  wishing  it  was  something  better,  but 
enjoying  it.  With  your  store-room  well  provided,  you 
can  indeed  go  for  gravy  **as  if  to  the  pump." 

Besides  the  foregoing  list  of  articles  to  be  bought  of 
any  good  grocer,  there  are  others  which  can  be  made  at 
home  to  advantage,  and  once  made  are  always  ready. 
Mushroom  powder  1  prefer  for  any  use  to  mushroom 
catsup  ;  it  is  easily  made  and  its  uses  are  infinite. 
Sprinkled  over  steak  (when  it  must  be  sifted)  or  chops, 
it  is  delicious.  For  ordinary  purposes,  such  as  flavoring 
soup  or  gravy,  it  need  not  be  sifted.  To  prepare  it,  take 
a  peck  of  large  and  very  fresh  mushrooms,  look  them  over 
carefully  that  they  are  not  wormy,  then  cleanse  them 
with  a  piece  of  flannel  from  sand  or  grit,  then  peel  them 
and  put  them  in  the  sun  or  a  cool  oven  to  dry ;  they  re- 
quire long,  slow  drjring,  and  must  become  in  a  state  to 
crumble.  Your  peck  will  have  diminished  by  the  pro- 
cess into  half  a  pint  or  less  of  mushroom  powder,  but 
you  have  the  means  with  it  of  making  a  rich  gravy  at  a 
few  minutes'  notice. 

Apropos  of  gravies — that  much-vexed  question  in 
small  households — for  without  gravies  on  hand  you  can- 
not make  good  hash,  or  many  other  things  that  are  mis- 
erable without,  and  excellent  with  it.  Yet  how  difficult 
it  is  to  have  gravy  always  on  hand  every  mistress  of  a 
small  family  knows,  in  spite  of  the  constant  advice  to 
"  save  your  trimming  to  make  stock."  Do  by  all  means 
save  your  bones,  gristle,  odds  and  ends  of  meat  of  all 
kinds,  and  convert  them  into  broth ;  but  even  if  you 
do,  it  often  happens  that  the  days  you  have  done  so  no 


30  Culture  and  Cooking. 

gravy  is  required,  and  then  it  sours  quickly  in  summer, 
although  it  may  be  arrested  by  reboiling.  In  no  family 
of  three  or  four  are  there  odds  and  ends  enough,  unless 
there  is  a  very  extravagant  table  kept,  to  insure  stock  for 
every  day.  My  remedy  for  this,  then,  is  to  make  a 
stock  that  will  keep  for  months  or  years — in  other  words, 
glaze.  So  very  rarely  forming  part  of  a  housewife's 
stores,  yet  so  valuable  that  the  fact  is  simply  astonish- 
ing ;  with  a  piece  of  glaze,  you  have  a  dish  of  soup  on 
an  emergency,  rich  gravy  for  any  purpose,  and  all  with 
the  expenditure  of  less  time  than  would  make  a  pot  of 
sweetmeats. 

Take  six  pounds  of  a  knuckle  of  veal  or  leg  of  beef, 
cut  it-in  pieces  the  size  of  an  Qgg,  as  also  half  a  pound 
of  lean  ham  ;  then  rub  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  butter  on 
the  bottom  of  your  pot,  which  should  hold  two  gallons  ; 
then  put  in  the  meat  with  half  a  pint  of  water,  three 
middle-sized  onions,  with  two  cloves  in  each,  a  turnip,  a 
carrot,  and  a  small  head  of  celery ;  then  place  over  a 
quick  fire,  occasionally  stirring  it  round,  until  the  bot- 
tom of  the  pot  is  covered  with  a  thick  glaze,  which  will 
adhere  lightly  to  the  spoon  ;  then  fill  up  the  pot  with 
cold  water,  and  when  on  the  boiling  point,  draw  it  to  the 
back  of  the  stove,  where  it  may  gently  simmer  three 
hours,  if  veal,  six  if  beef,  carefully  skimming  it  to  re- 
move scum.  This  stock,  as  it  is,  will  make  a  delicious 
foundation,  with  the  addition  of  salt,  for  all  kinds  of 
clear  soup  or  gravies.  To  reduce  it  to  glaze  proceed  as 
follows  :  Pass  the  stock  through  a  fine  hair  sieve  or 
cloth  into  a  pan  ;  then  fill  up  the  pot  again  with  liot 
water,  and  let  it  boil  four  hours  longer  to  obtain  all  the 
glutinous  part  from  the  meat ;  strain,  and  pour  both 
stocks  in  a  large  pot  or  stew-pan  together ;  set  it  over  the 


What  to  Have  in   Your  Store-room,  31 

fire,  and  let  it  boil  as  fast  as  possible  with  the  lid  ofE, 
leaving  a  large  spoon  in  it  to  prevent  it  boiling  over,  and 
to  stir  occasionally.  When  reduced  to  about  three  pints, 
pour  it  into  a  small  stew-pan  or  saucepan,  set  again  to 
boil,  but  more  slowly,  skimming  it  if  necessary ;  when 
it  is  reduced  to  a  quart,  set  it  where  it  will  again  boil 
quickly,  stirring  it  well  with  a  wooden  spoon  until  it 
begins  to  get  thick  and  of  a  fine  yellowish-brown  color  ; 
at  this  point  be  careful  it  does  not  bum. 

You  may  either  pour  it  into  a  pot  for  use,  or,  what  is 
more  convenient  for  making  gravies,  get  a  sausage  skin 
from  your  butcher,  cut  a  yard  of  it,  tie  one  end  very 
tightly,  then  pour  into  it  by  means  of  a  large  funnel  the 
glaze ;  from  this  cut  slices  for  use.  A  thick  slice  dis- 
solved in  hot  water  makes  a  cup  of  nutritious  soup,  into 
which  you  may  put  any  cooked  vegetables,  or  rice,  or 
barley.  A  piece  is  very  useful  to  take  on  a  journey, 
especially  for  an  invalid  who  does  not  want  to  depend  on 
wayside  hotel  food,  or  is  tired  of  beef- tea. 

The  foregoing  is  the  orthodox  recipe  for  glaze,  and  if 
you  have  to  buy  meat  for  the  purpose  the  very  best  way 
in  which  you  can  make  it ;  but  if  it  happen  that  you 
have  some  strong  meat  soup  or  jelly,  for  which  you  have 
no  use  while  fresh,  then  boil  it  down  till  it  is  thick  and 
brown  (not  burnt)  ;  it  will  be  excellent  glaze  ;  not  so  fine 
in  flavor,  perhaps,  but  it  preserves  to  good  use  what 
would  otherwise  be  lost.  Very  many  people  do  not 
know  the  value  of  pork  for  making  jelly.  If  you  live  in 
the  country  and  kill  a  pig,  use  his  hocks  for  making  glaze 
instead  of  beef. 

Glaze  also  adds  much  to  the  beauty  of  many  dishes. 
If  roast  beef  is  not  quite  brown  enough  on  any  one  spot 
Bet  your  jar  of  glaze — for  this  purpose  it  is  well  to  have 


32  Culture  and  Cooking. 

some  put  in  a  jar  as  well  as  in  the  skin — in  boiling  water. 
Keep  a  small  stiff  brush  ;  such  as  are  sold  for  the  pur- 
pose at  house-furnishing  stores,  called  a  glazing  brush, 
are  best ;  but  you  may  manage  with  any  other  or  even  a 
stiff  feather.  When  the  glaze  softens,  as  glue  would  do, 
brush  over  your  meat  with  it,  it  will  give  the  lacking 
brown  ;  or,  if  you  have  a  ham  or  tongue  you  wish  to 
decorate  you  may  '^varnish"  it,  as  it  were,  with  the 
melted  glaze ;  then  when  cold  beat  some  fresh  butter  to 
a  white  cream,  and  with  a  kitchen  syringe,  if  you  have 
one,  a  stiff  paper  funnel  if  you  have  not,  trace  any 
design  you  please  on  the  glazed  surface ;  this  makes  a 
very  handsome  dish,  and  if  your  ham  has  been  properly 
boiled  will  be  very  satisfactory  to  the  palate.  Of  the 
boiling  of  ham  I  will  speak  in  another  chapter. 

I  have  a  few  more  articles  to  recommend  for  your 
store-room,  and  then  I  think  you  will  find  yourself  equal 
to  the  emergency  of  providing  an  elegant  little  meal  if 
called  upon  unexpectedly,  provided  you  have  any  cold 
scraps  at  all  in  the  house,  and  maitre  d'hStel  butter. 

To  make  the  latter,  take  half  a  pound  of  fine  butter, 
one  tablespoonful  of  very  fresh  parsley,  chopped  not  too 
fine,  salt,  pepper,  and  a  small  tablespoonful  of  lemon 
juice ;  mix  together*,  but  do  not  work  more  than  suffi- 
cient for  that  purpose,  and  pack  in  a  jar,  keeping  it  in  a 
cool  place.  A  tablespoonful  of  this  laid  in  a  hot  dish 
on  which  you  serve  beefsteak,  chops,  or  any  kind  of  fish, 
is  a  great  addition,  and  turns  plain  boiled  potatoes  into 
pomme  de  terre  a  la  maitre  dliotel.  It  is  excellent  with 
stewed  potatoes,  or  added  to  anything  for  which  parsley 
is  needed,  and  not  always  at  hand  ;  a  spoonful  with  half 
the  quantity  of  flour  stirred  into  a  gill  of  milk  or  water 
makes  the  renowned  maitre  d'hotel  sauce  (or  English 


What  to  Have  in   Your  Store-room,  33 

parsley  butter)  for  boiled  fish,  mutton,  or  real.  In 
short,  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  things  to  have  in 
the  house.  Equally  valuable,  even,  and  more  elegant  is 
the  preparation  known  as  "Ravigotte"  or  Montpellier 
butter. 

Take  one  pound  in  equal  quantities  of  chervil,  tarra- 
gon, burnet  (pimpernel),  chives,  and  garden  cress  (pep- 
pergrass) ;  scald  two  minutes,  drain  quite  dry  ;  pound  in 
a  mortar  three  hard  eggs,  three  anchovies,  and  one  scant 
ounce  of  pickled  cucumbers,  and  same  quantity  of  capers 
well  pressed  to  extract  the  vinegar  ;  add  salt,  pepper,  and 
a  bit  of  garlic  half  as  large  as  a  pea,  rub  all  through  a 
sieve  ;  then  put  ^  pound  of  fine  butter  into  the  mortar, 
which  must  be  well  cleansed  from  the  herbs,  add  the 
herbs,  with  two  tablespoonf  uls  of  oil  and  one  of  tarragon 
vinegar,  mix  perfectly,  and  if  not  of  a  fine  green,  add 
the  juice  of  some  pounded  spinach. 

This  is  the  celebrated  ^^heurre  de  Montpellier,^''  sold 
in  Paris  in  tiny  jars  at  a  high  price.  Ravigotte  is  the 
same  thing,  only  in  place  of  the  eggs,  anchones,  pickles, 
and  capers,  put  half  a  pound  more  butter  ;  it  is  good,  but 
less  piquant. 

Pack  in  a  jar,  and  keep  cool.  This  butter  is  excel- 
lent for  many  purposes.  For  salad,  beaten  with  oil, 
vinegar,  and  yolks  of  eggs,  as  for  mayonnaise,  it  makes 
a  delicious  dressing.  For  cold  meat  or  fish  it  is  excel- 
lent, and  also  for  chops. 

Two  or  three  other  articles  serve  to  simplify  the  art  of 
cooking  in  its  especially  difficult  branches,  and  in  the 
branches  a  lady  finds  difficult  to  attend  to  herself  with- 
out remaining  in  the  kitchen  until  the  last  minute  before 
dinner ;  but  with  the  aid  of  blanc  and  roux  a  fairly 
intelligent  girl  can  make  excellent  sauces. 
2* 


34  Culture  and  Cooking, 

For  roux  melt  slowly  half  a  pound  of  butter  over  the 
fire,  skim  it,  let  it  settle,  then  dredge  in  eight  ounces  of 
fine  flour,  stir  it  till  it  is  of  a  bright  brown,  then  put 
away  in  a  jar  for  use. 

Blanc  is  the  same  thing,  only  it  is  not  allowed  to 
brown  ;  it  should  be  stirred  only  enough  to  make  all  hot 
through,  then  put  away  in  a  jar. 

If  you  need  thickening  for  a  white  sauce  and  do  not 
wish  to  stand  over  it  yourself,  having  taught  your  cook 
the  simple  fact  that  a  piece  of  blanc  put  into  the  milk 
hefore  it  boils  (or  it  will  harden  instead  of  melt)  and 
allowed  to  dissolve,  stirring  constantly,  will  make  the 
sauce  you  wish,  she  will  be  able  at  all  times  to  produce 
a  white  sauce  that  you  need  not  be  ashamed  of.  When 
the  sauce  is  nearly  ready  to  serve,  stir  in  a  good  piece  of 
butter — a  large  spoonful  to  half  a  pint ;  when  mixed, 
the  sauce  is  ready.  Brown  sauce  can  always  be  made 
by  taking  a  cup  of  broth  or  soup  and  dissolving  in  the 
same  way  a  piece  of  the  roux ;  and  also,  if  desired,  a 
piece  of  Montpellier  butter.  If  there  is  no  soup  of  course 
you  make  it  with  a  piece  of  glaze. 

Brown  flour  is  also  a  convenient  thing  to  have  ready  ; 
it  is  simply  cooking  flour  in  the  oven  until  it  is  a  pale 
brown  ;  if  it  is  allowed  to  get  dark  it  will  be  bitter,  and, 
that  it  may  brown  evenly,  it  requires  to  be  laid  on  a  large 
flat  baking  pan  and  stirred  often.  Useful  for  thickening 
stews,  hash,  etc. 


CHAPTER  V. 

LUN^CHEOK. 

Luncheon  is  usually,  in  this  country;,  either  a  forlorn 
meal  of  cold  meat  or  hash,  or  else  a  sort  of  early  dinner, 
both  of  which  are  a  mistake.  If  it  is  veritably  luncheon^ 
and  not  early  dinner,  it  should  be  as  unlike  that  later 
meal  as  possible  for  variety's  sake,  and,  in  any  but  very 
small  families,  there  are  so  many  dishes  more  suitable 
for  luncheon  than  any  other  meal,  that  it  is  easy  to 
have  great  variety  with  very  little  trouble. 

I  wish  it  were  more  the  fashion  here  to  have  many  of 
the  cold  dishes  which  are  popular  on  the  other  side  the 
Atlantic  ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  table  prejudices 
are  very  difficult  to  get  over,  I  will  append  a  few  recipes 
in  the  hope  that  some  lady,  more  progressive  than  prej- 
udiced, may  give  them  a  trial,  convinced  that  their  ex- 
cellence, appearance,  and  convenience  will  win  them 
favor. 

By  having  most  dishes  cold  at  luncheon,  it  makes  it  a 
distinct  meal  from  the  hot  breakfast  and  dinner.  In 
summer,  the  cold  food  and  a  salad  is  especially  refresh- 
ing ;  in  winter,  a  nice  hot  soup  or  puree — thick  soup  is 
preferable  at  luncheon  to  clear,  which  is  well  fitted  to 
precede  a  heavy  meal — ^and  some  savory  entree  are  very 
desirable,  while  cold  raised  pie,  galantine,  jellied  fish,  and 
potted  meats  may  ever,  at  that  season,  find  their  appro- 
priate place  on  the  luncheon  table.     The  potatoes,  which 

S5 


36  Culture  and  Cooking. 

are  the  only  vegetable  introduced  at  strict  lunch,  should 
be  prepared  in  some  fancy  manner,  as  croquettes,  mashed 
and  browned,  a  la  mditre  dliotel,  or  in  snow.  The  latter 
mode  is  pretty  and  novel ;  I  will,  therefore,  include  it 
in  my  recipes  for  luncheon  dishes.  Omelets,  too,  are 
excellent  at  luncheon. 

In  these  remarks  I  am  thinking  especially  of  large 
families,  whose  luncheon  table  might  be  provided  Avith 
a  dish  of  galantine,  one  of  collared  fish,  and  a  meat  pie, 
besides  the  steak,  cutlets,  or  warmed-over  meat,  without 
anything  going  to  waste.  In  winter  most  cold  jellied 
articles  will  keep  a  fortnight,  and  in  summer  three  or 
four  days. 

WiNDSOK  Pie.— Take  slices  of  veal  cutlet,  half  an 
inch  thick,  and  very  thin  slices  of  lean  boiled  ham  ;  put 
at  the  bottom  of  one  of  these  veal-pie  dishes  or  "  bak- 
ers," about  two  to  three  inches  deep,  a  layer  of  the  veal, 
seasoned,  then  one  of  ham,  then  one  of  force-meat,  made 
as  follows :  Take  a  little  veal,  or  if  you  have  sausage- 
meat  ready-made,  it  will  do,  as  much  fine  dry  bread- 
crumbs, a  dessert- spoonful  of  finely  chopped  parsley,  in 
which  is  a  salt-spoonful  of  powdered  thyme,  savory,  and 
marjoram,  if  you  have  them,  with  salt  and  pepper,  and 
mix  with  enough  butter  to  make  it  a  crumbling  paste; 
lay  a  thin  layer  of  this  on  the  ham,  then  another  of  veal, 
then  ham  and  force-meat  again,  until  the  dish  is  quite 
full.  Lay  something  flat  upon  it,  and  then  a  weight  for 
an  hour.  You  must  have  prepared,  from  bones  and 
scraps  of  veal,  about  a  pint  of  stiff  veal  jelly  ;  pour  this 
over  the  meat,  and  then  take  strips  of  rich  puff  paste 
(the  'brioche  paste  would  be  excellent  in  hot  weather), 
wet  the  edge  of  the  dish,  and  lay  the  strips  round,  press- 
ing them  lightly  to  the  dish ;  roll  the  cover  a  little 


Luncheon,  37 

larger  than  the  top  of  the  dish,  and  lay  it  on,  first  wet- 
ting the  surface,  not  the  edge,  of  the  strips  round  the 
lips  of  the  dish  ;  press  the  two  together,  then  make  a  hole 
in  the  center  and  ornament  as  you  please ;  but  I  never 
ornament  the  edge  of  a  pie,  as  it  is  apt  to  prevent  the 
paste  from  rising.  An  appropriate  and  simple  ornament 
for  meat  pies  is  to  roll  a  piece  of  paste  very  thin,  cut  it 
in  four  diamond-shaped  pieces,  put  one  point  of  each  to 
the  hole  in  the  center  so  that  you  have  one  on  each  end, 
and  one  each  side,  then  roll  another  little  piece  of  paste 
as  thin  as  possible,  flour  it  and  double  it,  then  double  it 
again,  bring  all  the  corners  together  in  your  hand,  like 
a  little  bundle,  then  with  a  sharp  knife  give  a  quick  cut 
over  the  top  of  the  ball  of  paste,  cutting  quite  deeply, 
then  another  across ;  if  your  cut  has  been  clean  and 
quick,  you  will  now  be  able  to  turn  half  back  the  leaves 
of  paste  as  if  it  were  a  half-blown  rose.  The  ends  which 
you  have  gathered  together  in  your  hand  are  to  be  in- 
serted in  the  hole  in  the  center  of  the  pie.  Then  brush 
over  with  yolk  of  Qgg  beaten  very  well  in  a  little  milk  or 
water,  and  bake  an  hour  and  a  half. 

This  way  of  covering  and  ornamenting  a  pie  is  ap- 
propriate for  all  meat  pies  ;  pigeon  pie  should,  however, 
have  the  little  red  feet  skinned  by  dipping  in  boiling 
water,  then  rubbed  in  a  cloth,  when  skin  and  nails  peel 
off  ;  if  allowed  to  lie  in  the  water,  the  flesh  comes  too; 
then  one  pair  is  put  at  each  end  of  the  pie,  a  hole  being 
cut  to  insert  them,  or  four  are  put  in  the  center  instead 
of  the  rose. 

The  Windsor  pie  is  intended  to  be  eaten  cold,  as  are  all 
veal  and  ham  pies,  the  beauty  of  the  jelly  being  lost  in 
a  hot  pie.  Do  not  fail  to  try  it  on  that  account,  for 
cold  pies  are  excellent  things. 


38  Culture  and  Cooking. 

Another  yeal  an^d  ham  pie,  more  usual,  and  proba- 
bly the  *'weal  and  hammer''  that  ^^mellered  the  organ" 
of  Silas  Wegg,  was  manufactured  by  Mrs.  Boffin  from 
this  recipe  ;  it  is  as  follows  : 

Take  the  thick  part  of  breast  of  yeal,  removing  all  the 
bones,  which  put  on  for  grayy,  stewing  them  long  and 
slowly;  put  a  layer  of  yeal,  pepper  and  salt,  then  a  thin 
sprinkling  of  ham;  if  boiled,  cut  in  slices;  if  raw,  cut  a 
slice  in  dice,  which  scald  before  using,  then  more  yeal 
and  again  ham.  If  force-meat  balls  are  liked,  make 
some  force-meat  as  for  Windsor  pie,  using  if  you  prefer  it 
chopped  hard-boiled  eggs  in  place  of  chopped  meat,  and 
binding  into  a  paste  with  a  raw  ^gg ;  then  make  into 
balls,  which  drop  into  the  creyices  of  the  pie  ;  boil  two 
or  three  eggs  quite  hard,  cut  each  in  four  and  lay  them 
round  the  sides  and  oyer  the  top,  pour  in  about  a  gill  of 
grayy,  and  coyer  the  same  as  the  Windsor  pie.  In  either 
of  these  pies  the  force-meat  may  be  left  out,  a  sweetbread 
cut  up,  or  mushroons  put  in. 

A  chicken  pie  to  eat  cold  is  yery  fine  made  in  this  way. 

Kaised  pork  pies  are  so  familiar  to  every  one  who  has 
visited  England,  and,  in  spite  of  the  greasy  idea,  are  so 
very  good,  that  I  introduce  a  well-tried  recipe,  feeling 
sure  any  one  who  eats  pork  at  all  will  find  it  worth  while 
to  give  them  a  trial;  they  will  follow  it  with  many  another. 

The  paste  for  them  is  made  as  follows  : 

Eub  into  two  pounds  of  flour  a  liberal  half  pound  of 
butter,  then  melt  in  half  a  pint  of  hot,  but  not  boiling 
milk,  another  half  pound — or  it  may  be  lard;  pour  this 
into  the  flour,  and  knead  it  into  a  smooth,  firm  paste. 
Properly  raised  pies  should  be  molded  by  hand,  and  I  will 
endeavor  to  describe  the  method  in  case  any  persever- 
ing lady  would  like  to  try  and  have  the  orthodox  thing. 


Luncheon,  39 

But  pie  molds  of  tin,  opening  at  the  side,  are  to  be 
bought,  and  save  much  trouble;  the  mold,  if  used,  should 
be  well  buttered,  and  the  pie  taken  out  when  done,  and 
returned  to  the  oven  for  the  sides  to  brown. 

To  "  raise"  a  pie,  proceed  thus  :  While  the  paste  is 
warm,  form  a  ball  of  paste  into  a  cone;  then  with  the 
fist  work  inside  it,  till  it  forms  an  oval  cup  ;  continue  to 
knead  till  you  have  the  walls  of  an  even  thickness,  then 
pinch  a  fold  all  around  the  bottom.  If  properly  done, 
you  have  an  oval,  flat-bottomed  crust,  with  sides  about 
two  inches  high  ;  fill  this  with  pork,  fat  and  lean 
together,  well  peppered  and  salted;  then,  work  an  oval 
cover,  as  near  the  size  of  the  bottom  cover  as  you  can, 
and  wet  the  edges  of  the  wall,  lay  the  cover  on,  and 
pinch  to  match  the  bottom;  ornament  as  directed  for 
Windsor  pie,  wash  with  ^^g,  and  bake  a  pale  brown  in  a 
moderate  oven  ;  they  must  be  well  cooked,  or  the  meat 
will  not  be  good.  One  containing  a  pound  of  meat  may 
be  cooked  an  hour  and  a  quarter.  All  these  pies  are 
served  in  slices,  cut  through  to  the  bottom. 

Galantines  are  very  handsome  dishes,  not  very  diflBcult 
to  make,  and  generally  popular.  I  give  a  recipe  for  a 
very  simple  and  delicious  one  : 

Take  a  fine  breast  of  veal,  remove  all  gristle,  tendons, 
bones,  and  trim  to  fifteen  inches  in  length  and  eight 
wide;  use  the  trimmings  and  bones  to  help  make  the 
jelly,  then  put  on  the  meat  a  layer  of  force-meat  made 
thus  :  Take  one  pound  of  sausage  meat,  or  lean  veal,  to 
which  add  half  a  pound  of  bread-crumbs,  parsley  and 
thyme  to  taste;  grate  a  little  nutmeg,  pepper,  salt,  and 
the  juice  of  half  a  lemon  ;  have  also  some  long  strips  an 
inch  thick  of  fat  bacon  or  pork,  and  lean  of  veal,  and 
lean  ham,  well  seasoned  with  pepper,  salt,  and  finely 


40  .  Culture  and  Cooking. 

chopped  shallots.  Lay  on  the  meat  a  layer  of  force- 
meat an  inch  thick,  leaving  an  inch  and  a  half  on  each 
side  uncoTcred ;  then  lay  on  your  strips  of  ham,  yeal, 
and  bacon  fat,  alternately;  then  another  of  force-meat, 
but  only  half  an  inch  thick,  as  too  much  force-meat 
will  spoil  the  appearance  of  the  dish  ;  if  you  have  any 
cold  tongue,  lay  some  strips  in,  also  a  few  blanched 
pistachio  nuts  (to  be  obtained  of  a  confectioner)  will 
give  the  appearance  of  true  French  galantine.  Eoll  up 
the  veal,  and  sew  it  with  a  packing  or  coarse  needle  and 
fine  twine,  tie  it  firmly  up  in  a  piece  of  linen.  Observe 
that  you  do  not  put  your  pistachio  nuts  amid  the  force- 
meat, where,  being  green,  their  appearance  would  be  lost; 
put  them  in  crevices  of  the  meats. 

Cook  this  in  sufficient  water  to  cover,  in  which  you 
must  have  the  trimminsrs  of  the  breast  and  a  knuckle  of 
veal,  or  hock  of  pork,  two  onions,  a  carrot,  half  a  head 
of  celery,  two  cloves,  a  blade  of  mace,  and  a  good  bunch 
of  parsley,  thyme  and  bay  leaf,  two  ounces  of  salt.  Set 
the  pot  on  the  fire  till  it  is  at  boiling  point,  then  draw 
it  to  the  back  and  let  it  simmer  three  hours,  skimming 
carefully ;  then  take  it  from  the  fire,  leaving  it  in  the 
stock  till  nearly  cold;  then  take  it  out,  remove  the  string 
from  the  napkin,  and  roll  the  galantine  up  tighter — if 
too  tight  at  first  it  will  be  hard — tying  the  napkin  at 
each  end  only;  then  place  it  on  a  dish,  set  another  dish 
on  it,  on  which  place  a  fourteen-pound  weight;  this  will 
cause  it  to  cut  firm.  When  quite  cold,  remove  strings 
and  cloth,  and  it  is  ready  to  be  ornamented  with  jelly. 
When  the  stock  in  which  the  galantine  was  cooked  is  cold 
take  off  the  fat  and  clarify  it,  first  trying,  however,  if  it 
is  in  right  condition,  by  putting  a  little  on  ice.  If  it  is 
not  stiff  enough  to  cut  firm,  you  must  reduce  it  by  boil- 


Luncheon,  41 

ing  ;  if  too  stiff,  that  is  approaching  glaze,  add  a  little 
water,  then  clarify  by  adding  whites. of  eggs,  as  directed 
to  clarify  soup  (see  soups).  A  glass  of  sherry  and  two 
spoonfuls  of  tarragon  or  common  yinegar  are  a  great 
improvement.  Some  people  like  this  jelly  cut  in  dice, 
to  ornament  the  galantine,  part  of  it  may  then  also  serve 
to  ornament  other  dishes  at  the  table.  But  I  prefer  to 
have  the  galantine  enveloped  in  jelly,  which  may  be  done 
by  putting  it  in  an  oblong  soup  tureen  or  other  vessel 
that  will  contain  it,  leaving  an  inch  space  all  round, 
then  pouring  the  jelly  over  it. 

Jellied  fish  is  a  favorite  dish  with  many,  and  is  very 
simple  to  prepare;  it  is  also  very  ornamental.  Take 
flounders  or  almost  any  flat  fish  that  is  cheapest  at  the 
time  you  require  them.  Clean  and  scrape  them,  cut 
them  in  small  pieces,  but  do  not  cut  off  the  fins ;  put 
them  in  a  stew-pan  with  a  few  small  button  onions  or 
one  large  one,  a  half  teaspoonful  of  sugar,  a  glass  of 
sherry,  a  dessert-spoonful  of  lemon  juice,  and  a  small 
bunch  of  parsley.  To  one  large  flounder  put  a  quart  of 
water,  and  if  you  are  going  to  jelly  oysters  put  in  their 
liquor  and  a  little  salt.  Stew  long  and  slowly,  skim- 
ming well  ;  then  strain,  and  if  not  perfectly  clear  clarify 
as  elsewhere  directed.  (See  if  your  stock  jellies,  by  try- 
ing it  on  ice  before  you  clarify.)  Now  take  a  mold,  put 
in  it  pieces  of  cold  salmon,  eels  that  have  been  cooked, 
or  oysters,  the  latter  only  just  cooked  enough  in  the 
stock  to  plump  them  ;  pour  a  little  of  the  jelly  in  the 
mold,  then  three  or  four  half  slices  of  lemon,  then  oys- 
ters or  the  cold  fish,  until  the  mold  is  near  full,  dis- 
posing the  lemon  so  that  it  will  be  near  the  sides  and 
decorate  the  jelly  ;  then  pour  the  rest  of  the  jelly  over 
all  and  stand  in  boiling  water  for  a  few  minutes,  then 


42  Culture  and  Cooking, 

put  it  in  a  cold  place,  on  ice  is  best,  for  some  hours. 
When  about  to  serve,  dip  the  mold  in  hot  water,  turn 
out  on  a  dish,  garnish  with  lettuce  leaves  or  parsley  and 
hard-boiled  eggs.  The  latter  may  be  introduced  into 
the  jelly  cut  in  quarters  if  it  is  desired ;  very  ornamen- 
tal force-meat  balls  made  bright  green  with  spinach  juice 
are  also  an  improvement  in  appearance. 

A  Nevt  Matokj^aise  (Soyer's).— Put  a  quarter  of  a 
pint  of  stiff  veal  jelly  (that  has  been  nicely  flavored  with 
vegetables)  on  ice  in  a  bowl,  whisking  it  till  it  is  a  white 
froth  ;  then  add  half  a  pint  of  salad  oil  and  six  spoon- 
fuls of  tarragon  vinegar,  hy  degrees,  first  oil,  then  vine- 
gar, continually  whisking  till  it  forms  a  white,  smooth, 
sauce-like  cream  ;  season  with  half  a  teaspoonful  of  salt, 
a  quarter  ditto  of  white  pepper,  and  a  very  little  sugar, 
whisk  it  a  little  more  and  it  is  ready.  It  should  be 
dressed  pyramidically  over  the  article  it  is  served  with. 
The  advantage  of  this  sauce  is  that  (although  more  deli- 
cate than  any  other)  you  may  dress  it  to  any  height 
you  like,  and  it  will  remain  so  any  length  of  time ;  if 
the  temperature  is  cool,  it  will  remain  hours  without 
appearing  greasy  or  melting.  It  is  absolutely  necessary, 
however,  that  it  should  be  prepared  on  ice. 

All  these  dishes,  however,  are  only  adapted  for  large 
families,  but  there  are  several  ways  of  improving  on  the 
ordinary  lunch  table  of  very  small  ones.  And  nothing 
is  more  pleasant  for  the  mistress  of  one  of  these  very 
small  families  than  to  have  a  friend  drop  in  to  lunch, 
and  have  a  recherche  lunch  to  offer  with  little  trouble. 
Warming  over  will  aid  her  in  this,  and  to  that  chapter 
I  refer  her ;  but  there  are  one  or  two  ways  of  having 
cold  relishes  always  ready,  which  help  out  an  impromptu 
meal  wonderfully. 


Luncheon,  43 

Potted  meats  are  a  great  resource  to  English  house- 
keepers ;  this  side  the  Atlantic  they  are  chiefly  known 
through  the  medium  of  Cross  &  Blackwell,  though  lat- 
terly one  or  two  American  firms  have  introduced  somo 
very  admirable  articles  of  the  sort.  Home-made  potted 
meats  are,  however,  better  and  less  expensive  than  those 
bought ;  they  should  be  packed  away  in  jars,  Liebig's 
extract  of  meat  jars  not  being  too  small  for  the  purpose, 
as,  while  covered  with  the  fat  they  keep  well ;  once 
opened,  they  require  eating  within  a  week  or  ten  days, 
except  in  very  cold  weather. 

Potted  bloater  is  one  of  the  least  expensive  and  appe- 
tizing of  all  potted  meats.  To  make  it,  take  two  or  three 
or  more  bloaters,  cut  off  the  heads  and  cleanse  them,  put 
them  in  the  oven  long  enough  to  cook  them  through; 
take  them  out,  take  off  the  skin,  and  remove  the  meat 
from  the  bones  carefully  ;  put  the  meat  of  the  fish  in  a 
jar  with  half  its  weight  of  butter,  leave  it  to  slowly  cook 
in  a  cool  oven  for  an  hour,  then  take  it  out,  put  the  fish 
into  a  mortar  or  strong  dish,  pour  the  butter  on  it  care- 
fully, but  don't  let  the  gravy  pass  too,  unless  the  fish  is 
to  be  eaten  very  quickly,  as  it  would  prevent  it  keeping. 
Beat  both  butter  and  fish  till  they  form  a  paste,  add  a 
little  cayenne,  and  press  it  into  small  pots,  pouring  on 
each  melted  butter,  or  mutton  suet.  Either  should  be. 
the  third  of  an  inch  thick  on  the  bloater.  This  makes 
excellent  sandwiches. 

Potted  Ham.  — Take  any  remains  of  ham  you  have, 
even  fried,  if  of  a  nice  quality,  is  good  for  the  purpose  '^ 
take  away  all  stringy  parts,  sinew,  or  gristle,  put  it  in  a 
slow  oven  with  its  weight  of  butter,  let  it  stay  macerat- 
ing in  the  butter  till  very  tender,  then  beat  it  in  a  mor- 
tar, add  cayenne,  and  pack  in  pots  in  the  same  way  as 


44  Culture  and  Cooking, 

the  bloater.  Thus  you  may  pot  odds  and  ends  of  any 
meat  or  fish  you  have,  and  as  a  little  potted  meat  goes  a 
long  way,  when  you  have  a  little  lobster,  a  bit  of  chicken 
breast,  or  even  cold  veal,  I  advise  you  to  use  it  in  this 
way  ;  you  will  then  have  a  little  stock  of  dainties  in  the 
house  to  fall  back  on  at  any  time  for  unexpected  calls — 
a  very  important  thing  in  the  country. 

Potted  chicken  or  veal  requires  either  a  little  tongue 
or  lean  ham  to  give  flavor  ;  but  failing  these,  a  little 
ravigotte  butter,  beaten  in  after  the  meat  is  well 
pounded,  is  by  no  means  a  bad  substitute. 

Many  people  like  the  flavor  of  anchovies,  but  do  not 
like  the  idea  of  eating  raw  fish  ;  for  these  anchovy  but- 
ter is  very  acceptable. 

Take  the  anchovies  out  of  the  liquor  in  which  they  are 
packed,  but  do  not  wash  them,  put  them  in  twice  their 
weight  of  butter  in  a  jar,  which  stand  in  boiling  water  ; 
set  all  back  of  the  stove  for  an  hour,  then  pound,  add 
cayenne,  and  pack  in  glasses. 

Unexpected  company  to  luncheon  with  a  lady  who  has 
to  eat  that  meal  alone  generally,  and  (as  is  the  unwise 
way  of  such  ladies)  makes  it  a  very  slender  meal,  is  one 
of  the  ordeals  of  a  young  housekeeper  ;  company  to  lunch 
and  nothing  in  the  house.  But  there  is  generally  a 
dainty  luncheon  in  every  house  if  you  know  how  to  pre- 
pare it ;  there  certainly  always  will  be  if  you  keep  your 
store-room  supplied  with  the  things  I  have  named.  Let 
the  table  be  prettily  laid  at  all  times,  then  if  you  have 
potted  meat  and  preserves,  have  them  put  on  the  table. 
Are  there  cold  potatoes?  If  so  cut  them  up  into  potato 
salad,  if  they  are  whole ;  if  broken,  warm  them  in  a 
wine-glass  of  milk,  a  teaspoonful  of  flour,  and  a  piece 
as  large  as  an  ^gg  of  maitre  d'hotel  butter.     Have  you 


Luncheon,  45 

such  scraps  of  cold  meat  as  could  not  come  to  table?  Toss 
them  up  with  a  half  cup  of  water,  a  slice  of  glg-ze  (oh, 
blessed  ever-ready  glaze !)  a  teaspoonf ul  of  ravigotte,  or 
maitre  dliotel,  and  a  teaspoonf  ul  of  roux  or  blanc,  ac- 
cording as  your  meat  is  light  or  dark,  season,  and  serve. 
Or  you  have  no  meat,  then  you  have  eggs,  and  what  bet- 
ter than  an  omelet  and  such  an  omelet  as  the  following? 
Take  the  crumb  of  a  slice  of  bread,  soak  it  in  hot  milk 
(cold  will  do,  but  hot  is  better),  beat  up  whites  of  four 
eggs  to  a  high  froth;  mix  the  bread  with  all  the  milk  it 
will  absorb,  no  more,  into  a  paste,  add  the  yolks  of  eggs 
with  a  little  salt,  set  the  pan  on  the  fire  with  an  ounce  of 
butter.  Let  it  get  very  hot,  then  mix  the  whites  of  eggs 
with  the  yolks  and  bread  lightly,  pour  in  the  pan,  and 
move  about  for  a  miuute  ;  if  the  oven  is  hot,  when  the 
omelet  is  brown  underneath,  set  the  pan  in  the  oven 
for  five  minutes,  or  until  the  top  is  set ;  then  double 
half  over,  and  serve.  If  your  guests  have  a  liking  for 
sweets,  and  your  potted  meats  supply  the  savory  part  of 
your  luncheon,  then  have  a  brown  gravy  ready  to  serve 
with  it.  Put  into  a  half  cup  of  boiling  water  a  slice  of 
glaze,  a  spoonful  of  roux,  and  enough  Harvey  sauce,  or 
mushroom  powder,  to  flavor.  If  your  omelet  is  to  be 
«weet,  before  you  fold  it  put  in  a  layer  of  preserves. 

The  advantage  of  the  omelet  I  have  here  given  ig 
that  it  keeps  plump  and  tender  till  cold,  so  that  five 
minutes  of  waiting  does  not  turn  it  into  leather,  the 
great  objection  with  omelets  generally.  \ 

Potatoes  for  luncheon,  as  I  have  said,  should  always 
be  prepared  in  some  fancy  way,  and  snow  is  a  very  pretty 
one.  Have  some  fine  mealy  potatoes  boiled,  carefully 
poured  off,  and  set  back  of  the  stove  with  a  cloth  over 
them  till  they  are  quite  dry  and  fall  apart ;  then  have  a 


/ 


46  '    Culture  and  Cooking. 

colander,  or  coarse  wire  sieve  made  liot  and  a  Tiot  dish  in 
which  .to  serve  them,  pass  the  floury  potatoes  through 
the  sieve,  taking  care  not  to  crush  the  snow  as  it  falls. 
You  require  a  large  dish  heaping  full,  and  be  careful 
it  is  kept  hot. 

This  mode  of  preparing  potatoes,  although  very  pretty 
and  novel,  must  never  be  attempted  with  any  but  the 
whitest  and  mealiest  kind. 

The  remains  of  cold  potatoes  may  be  prepared  thus: 
Put  three  ounces  of  butter  in  a  frying-pan  in  which  fry 
three  onions  sliced  till  tender,  but  not  very  brown,  then 
put  on  the  potatoes  cut  in  slices,  and  shake  them  till 
they  are  of  a  nice  brown  color,  put  a  spoonful  of  chopped 
parsley,  salt,  pepper,  and  juice  of  a  lemon,  shake  well 
that  all  may  mix  together,  dish,  and  serve  very  hot. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  CHAPTER  0:S  GENERAL  MANAGEMENT  IN  VERY 
SMALL  FAMILIES. 

A  VERY  small  family,  *'a  young  menage,^'  for  in- 
etance,  is  very  much  more  difficult  to  cater  for  without 
waste  than  a  larger  one;  two  people  are  so  apt  to  get  tired 
of  anything,  be  it  ever  so  good  eating,  when  it  has  been 
on  the  table  once  or  twice;  therefore  it  would  be  useless 
to  make  galantine  or  the  large  pies  I  have  indicated,  ex- 
cept for  occasions  when  guests  are  expected ;  but,  as  I 
hope  to  aid  young  housekeepers  to  have  nice  dishes  when 
alone,  I  will  devote  this  chapter  to  their  needs. 

The  chapter  on  "  Warming  Over  "  will  be  very  useful 
also  to  this  large  class. 

In  the  first  place  it  is  well  to  have  regard,  when  part 
of  a  dish  leaves  the  table,  as  to  whether  it,  or  any  partic- 
ular part  of  it,  will  make  a  nice  little  cold  dish,  or  a  re- 
chaiiffe;  in  that  case  have  it  saved,  unless  it  is  required 
for  the  servants'  dinner  (it  is  well  to  manage  so  that  it  is 
not  needed  for  that  purpose);  for  instance,  if  there  is  the 
wing  and  a  slice  or  two  of  the  breast  of  a  chicken  left,  it 
will  make  a  dainty  little  breakfast  dish,  or  cold,  in  jelly, 
be  nice  for  lunch.  There  is  always  jelly  if  you  have 
roast  chicken,  if  you  manage  properly,  and  this  is  how 
you  do  \\f : 

Carefully  save  the  feet,  throat,  gizzard,  and  liver  of 
your  chickens;  scald  the  feet  by  pouring  boiling  water 

47 


48  Culture  and  Cooking, 

over  them;  leave  them  just  a  minute,  and  pull  off  the 
outer  skin  and  nails;  they  come  away  very  readily,  leav- 
ing the  feet  delicately  white;  put  these  with  the  other 
giblets,  properly  cleansed,  into  a  small  saucepan  with  an 
onion,  a  slice  of  carrot,  a  sprig  of  parsley,  and  a  pint  of 
water  (if  you  have  the  giblets  of  one  chicken),  if  of 
two,  put  a  quart;  let  this  slowly  simmer  for  two  hours 
and  a  half;  it  will  be  reduced  to  about  half,  and  form  a 
stiff  jelly  when  cold;  a  glass  of  sherry,  and  squeeze  of 
lemon,  or  teaspoonful  of  tarragon  vinegar,  makes  this 
into  a  delicious  aspic,  and  should.be  added  if  to  be  eaten 
cold.     The  jelly  must  of  course  be  strained. 

In  roasting  chickens,  if  you  follow  the  rule  for  meat, 
that  is,  put  no  water  in  the  pan,  but  a  piece  of  butter,  and 
dredge  a  very  little  flour  over  the  chicken,  you  will  have 
a  nice  brown  glaze  at  the  bottom  of  the  pan,  provided 
it  has  been  cooked  in  a  quich  oven;  if  in  a  cool  oven 
there  will  be  nothing  brown  at  all ;  but  we  will  suppose 
the  bird  is  browned  to  a  turn  ;  pour  your  gravy  from  the 
giblets  into  the  pan,  take  off  every  bit  of  the  glaze  or 
osmazone  that  adheres,  and  let  it  dissolve,  rubbing  it 
with  the  back  of  the  spoon  ;  then,  if  you  are  likely  to 
have  any  chicken  left  cold,  pour  off  a  little  gravy  in  a 
cup  through  a  fine  strainer,  leaving  in  your  pan  suffi- 
cient for  the  dinner ;  in  this  mash  up  the  liver  till  it  is 
a  smooth  paste  which  thickens  the  gravy,  and  serve. 
Some  object  to  liver,  therefore  the  use  of  it  is  a  matter 
of  taste.  If  you  dress  the  chickens  English  fashion,  you 
will  need  the  liver  and  gizzard  to  tuck  under  the  wings  ; 
in  this  case,  stew  only  the  feet  and  throat,  using  a  little 
meat  of  any  kind,  if  you  have  it,  to  take  their  place  ; 
but  on  no  account  fail  to  use  the  feet,  as  they  are  as  rich 
in  jelly  as  calves'  feet  in  proportion  to  their  size. 


General  Management  in  Small  Families,      49 

The  jelly  laid  aside  will  be  enough  to  ornament  and 
give  relish  to  a  little  dish  of  cold  chicken,  and  changes 
it  from  a  dry  and  commonplace  thing  to  a  recherche  one. 
If  two  chickens  are  cooked  it  is  more  economical  than 
one  ;  there  is,  then,  double  the  amount  of  gravy,  gener- 
ally sufficient,  if  you  lay  some  very  nice  pieces  of  cold 
chicken  in  a  bowl,  to  pour  over  it  and  leave  it  enveloped 
in  jelly ;  you  still  then,  if  from  dinner  for  two  people, 
have  perhaps  joints  enough  to  make  a  dish  of  curry  or 
fricassee,  or  any  of  the  many  ways  in  which  cold  chicken 
may  be  used,  for  which  see  chapter  on  '' Warming  Over." 

For  small  households  large  joints  are  to  be  avoided, 
but  even  a  small  roast  is  a  large  joint  when  there  are  but 
two  or  three  to  eat  it.  For  this  reason  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  buy  such  joints  as  divide  well.  A  sirloin  of  beef  is 
better  made  into  two  fine  dishes  than  into  one  roast, 
and  then  warmed  over  twice.  Every  one  knows  that 
'^ Filet  de  hceuf  Chateaubriand"  is  one  of  the  classical 
dishes  of  the  French  table,  that  to  a  Frenchman  luxury 
can  go  no  further ;  but  every  one  does  not  know  how 
entirely  within  his  power  it  is  to  have  that  dish  as  often 
as  he  has  roast  beef  ;  how  convenient  it  would  be  to  so 
have  it.  Here  it  is  :  When  your  sirloin  roast  comes  from 
the  butcher,  take  out  the  tenderloin  or  fillets,  which  you 
must  always  choose  thick ;  cut  it  across  into  steaks  an 
inch  thick,  trim  them,  cover  them  with  a  coat  of  butter 
(or  oil,  which  is  much  better),  and  broil  them  ten  min- 
utes, turning  them  often  ;  garnish  with  fried  potatoes, 
and  serve  with  sauce  Chateaubriand,  as  follows  :  Put  a 
gill  of  white  wine  (or  claret  will  do  if  you  have  no 
white)  into  a  saucepan,  with  a  piece  of  glaze,  weighing 
an  ounce  and  a  half ;  add  three  quarters  of  a  pint  of 
espagnoJe,  and  simmer  fifteen  minutes ;  when  ready  to 
3 


50  Culture  and  Cooking, 

serve,  thicken  with  two  ounces  of  mattre  dliotel  butter 
in  w^hich  a  dessert-spoonful  of  flour  has  been  worked. 
That  is  how  Jules  Gouffe's  recipe  runs  ;  but,  as  no  small 
family  will  keep  espagnole  ready  made,  allow  a  little  more 
glaze  (of  course  the  recipe  as  given  may  be  divided  to 
half  or  quarter,  provided  the  correct  proportions  are 
retained),  and  use  a  tablespoonful  of  roux  and  the  mattre 
dliotel  butter,  both  of  which  you  have  probably  in  your 
store-room  ;  if  not,  brown  a  little  flour,  chop  some  pars- 
ley, and  add  to  two  ounces  of  butter ;  work  them  to- 
gether, then  let  them  dissolve  in  the  sauce,  for  which 
purpose  let  it  go  off  the  boil ;  let  the  sauce  simmer  a 
minute,  skim,  and  serve. 

The  sirloin  of  beef,  denuded  of  its  fillet,  is  still  a  good 
roast ;  and  as  you  can't  have  your  cake  and  eat  it  too, 
and  hot  fresh  roast  beef  is  better  than  the  same  warmed 
over,  warm  ye  never  so  wisely,  I  think  this  plan  may 
commend  itself  to  those  who  like  nice  little  dinners. 

A  nice  little  dinner  of  a  soup,  an  entree,  or  made  dish, 
salad,  and  dessert,  really  costs  no  more  than  frequent 
roast  meat,  or  even  steak  and  pudding,  by  following 
some  such  plan  as  this  : 

Sunday. — Pot-au-feu  and  roast  lamb,  leg  of  mutton 
or  other  good  joint,  etc. 

Monday. — Eice  or  vermicelli  soup  made  with  remains 
of  the  bouillon  from  pot-au-feu.  If  the  Sunday  joint 
was  a  fore  or  hindquarter  of  lamb  it  should  have  been 
divided,  say  the  leg  from  the  loin,  thus  providing  choice 
roasts  for  two  days,  and  yet  having  enough  cold  lamb — 
that  favorite  dish  with  so  many — for  luncheon  with  a  sal- 
ad ;  and,  surprising  to  say,  after  hot  roast  lamb  for  dinner 
Sunday,  cold  lunch  for  Monday,  another  roast  Monday, 
and  cold  or  warmed  up  for  lunch  Tuesday,  there  will 


General  Management  in  Small  Families,       51 

still  be  (supposing  as  I  do,  in  preparing  this  chapter, 
that  the  family  consists  only  of  gentleman,  lady,  and  ser- 
vant) remains  enough  from  the  two  cold  joints  to  make 
cromesquis  of  lamb  (see  recipe),  a  little  dish  of  mince,  or 
a  delicate  saute  of  lamb  for  breakfast.  It  is  surprising 
■what  may  be  done  with  odds  and  ends  in  a  small  fam- 
ily ;  a  tiny  plate  of  pieces,  far  too  small  to  make  an  ap- 
pearance on  the  table,  and  which,  if  special  directions 
are  not  given,  will  seem  to  Bridget  not  worth  saving, 
will,  with  each  piece  dipped  into  the  batter  a  la  Car  erne, 
and  fried  in  hot  fat,  make  a  tempting  dish  for  breakfast, 
or  an  entree  for  dinner  or  luncheon.  Two  tablespoonfuls 
only  of  chopped  meat  of  any  kind  will  make  croquettes 
for  two  or  three  people  ;  hence,  '  save  the  pieces.'  But 
to  return  to  our  bills  of  fare  :  I  have  given  the  two  roasts 
of  lamb  for  consecutive  days,  because  the  weather  in 
lamb  season  is  usually  too  warm  to  keep  it ;  when  this 
can  be  done,  however,  it  is  pleasanter  to  leav.e  the  second 
joint  of  lamb  till  Tuesday.  Should  a  forequarter  (abroad 
held  in  greater  esteem  than  the  hindquarter)  have  been 
chosen,  get  the  butcher  to  take  out  the  shoulder  in  one 
round  thick  joint,  English  fashion  ;  this  crisply  roasted 
is  far  more  delicious  than  the  leg ;  you  then  have  the 
chops  to  be  breaded,  and  an  excellent  dish  of  the  neck 
and  breast,  either  broiled,  curried,  stewed  with  peas,  or 
roast. 

Yet  how  often  we  see  a  whole  quarter  of  lamb  put  in 
the  oven  for  two  or  three  people  who  get  tired  of  the 
sight  of  it  cold,  yet  feel  in  economy  bound  to  eat  it. 

Should  sirloin  of  beef  have  been  the  Sunday  dinner, 
you  will  know  what  to  do  with  it,  from  directions  al- 
ready given;  and  as  a  sirloin  of  beef,  even  with  the  fillet 
out,  win  be  more  than  required  for  one  dinner,  it  may 


52  Culture  and  Cooking, 

serve  for  a  third  day,  dressed  in  one  of  the  various  ways 
I  shall  give  in  chapter  on  ^^AYarmi-ng  Over."  You  have 
still  at  your  disposal  the  bouilli  or  beef  from  which  you 
have  made  your  pot-au-feii,  which,  if  it  has  been  care- 
fully boiled,  not  galloped,  nor  allowed  to  fall  to  rags,  is 
very  good  eating.  Cut  thin  with  lettuce,  or  in  winter 
celery,  in  about  equal  quantities,  and  a  good  salad  dress- 
ing, it  is  excellent;  or,  made  into  hash,  f  ritadella,  or  even 
rissoles,  is  savory  and  delicious  ;  only  bear  in  mind  with 
this,  as  all  cooked  meats,  the  gravy  drawn  out  must  be 
replaced  by  stock  or  glaze  ;  it  is  very  easy  to  warm  over 
bouilli  satisfactorily,  as  a  cup  of  the  soup  made  from  it 
can  always  be  kept  for  gravy. 

A  leg  of  mutton  makes  two  excellent  joints,  and  is 
seldom  liked  cold — as  beef  and  lamb  often  are. 

Select  a  large  fine  leg,  have  it  cut  across,  that  each 
part  may  weigh  about  equally;  roast  the  thick  or  fillet  end 
and  serve  with  or  without  onion  sauce  {a  la  souMse) ; 
boil  the  knuckle  in  a  small  quantity  of  water,  just 
enough  to  cover  it,  with  a  carrot,  turnip,  onion,  and 
bunch  of  parsley,  and  salt  in  the  water,  serve  with  caper 
sauce  and  mashed  turnips.  The  broth  from  this  is  ex- 
cellent soup  served  thus  :  Skim  it  carefully,  take  out 
the  vegetables,  and  chop  a  small  quantity  of  parsley  very 
fine,  then  beat  up  in  a  bowl  two  eggs,  pour  into  them  a 
little  of  the  broth — not  boiling — beating  all  the  time, 
then  draw  your  soup  back  till  it  is  off  the  boil,  and  pour 
in  the  eggs,  stirring  continually  till  it  is  on  the  boiling 
point  again  (but  it  must  not  boil,  or  the  eggs  will  cur- 
dle and  spoil  the  soup),  and  then  turn  it  into  a  hot  tureen 
and  serve.  Use  remains  of  the  cold  roast  and  boiled  mut- 
ton together,  to  make  made  dishes;  between  the  days  of 
having  the  roast  and  boiled  mutton  you  may  have  had  a 


General  Management  in  Small  Families,       53 

fowl,  and  the  remains  from  that  will  make  you  a  second 
dish  to  go  with  your  joint. 

The  remains  from  the  first  cooked  mutton,  in  form 
of  curry,  mince,  salmi,  or  sauU,  will  be  a  second  dish 
with  your  fowl. 

Veal  is  one  of  the  most  convenient  things  to  have  for 
a  small  family,  as  it  warms  over  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and 
in  some  is  actually  better  than  when  put  on  the  table  as 
a  joint.  By  having  a  little  fish  one  day,  instead  of  soup, 
and  a  little  game  another,  and  remembering  when  you 
have  an  especially  dainty  thing,  to  have  one  with  it  a 
little  more  substantial  and  less  costly,  you  may  have  vari- 
ety at  little  expense. 

For  instance,  if  you  find  it  convenient  to  have  for  din- 
ner fritadelle  (see  ''  Warming  Over''')  or  miroton  of  beef, 
or  cold  mutton  curried,  you  might  have  broiled  birds,  or 
roast  pigeon,  or  game.  In  this  consists  good  manage- 
ment, to  live  so  that  the  expenses  of  one  day  balance 
those  of  the  other — unless  you  are  so  happily  situated 
that  expense  is  a  small  matter,  in  which  case  these  re- 
marks will  not  apply  to  you  at  all.  Then,  never  mind 
warming  over,  or  making  one  joint  into  two;  let  your 
poor  neighbors  and  Bridget's  friends  enjoy  your  superflu- 
ity. To  the  woman  with  a  moderate  income  it  usually 
is  a  matter  of  importance,  or  ought  to  be,  that  her 
weekly  expenditure  should  not  exceed  a  certain  amount, 
and  for  this  she  must  arrange  that  any  extra  expense  is 
balanced  by  a  subsequent  economy. 

Salads  add  much  to  the  health  and  elegance  of  a  din- 
ner ;  it  is  in  early  spring  an  expensive  item  if  lettuce  is 
used;  but  no  salad  can  be  more  delicious  or  more  health- 
ful than  dressed  celery;  and  by  buying  when  cheap,  ar- 
ranging with  a  man  to  lay  in  your  cellar,  covered  with 


54  Culture  and  Cooking, 

soil,  enough  for  the  winter's  use,  it  need  cost  but  moder- 
ately. Celeraic,  or  turnip-rooted  celery  is  another  salad 
that  is  yery  popular  with  our  German  friends;  it  is  a 
bulbous  celery,  the  root  being  the  part  eaten  ;  these  are 
cooked  like  potatoes,  cut  in  slices,  and  dressed  with  oil 
and  vinegar,  or  mayonnaise,  it  is  exceedingly  good. 
Potato  salad  is  always  procurable,  and  in  summer  at 
lunch,  instead  of  the  hot  vegetable,  or  in  winter  when 
green  salad  is  dear,  is  very  valuable.  It  may  be  varied 
by  the  addition,  one  day,  of  a  few  chopped  pickles,  an- 
other, a  little  onion,  or  celery,  or  parsley,  or  tarragon,  a 
little  ravigotte  butter  beaten  to  cream  with  the  vinegar, 
or  with  meat,  as  follows  :  Boil  the  potatoes  in  their  skins, 
peel  them,  cut  them  into  pieces  twice  the  thickness 
of  a  fifty-cent  piece,  and  put  them  into  a  salad  bowl  with 
cold  meat  (bouilli  from  soup  is  excellent) ;  put  to  them 
a  teaspoonful  of  salt,  half  that  quantity  of  pepper,  two 
tablespoonfuls  of  vinegar,  three  or  even  four  of  oil,  and 
a  teaspoonful  of  chopped  parsley.  You  can  vary  this  by 
putting  at  different  times  some  chopped  celery  or  pickles, 
olives,  or  anchovies. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

OHi  FEYIN^G   AND   BKOILIKG. 

Pryixg  is  one  of  the  operations  in  cookery  in  which 
there  are  more  failures  than  any  other,  or,  at  least,  there 
appear  to  be  more,  because  the  failure  is  always  so  yery 
apparent.  Nothing  can  make  a  dish  of  breaded  cutlets 
on  which  are  bald  white  spots  look  inviting,  or  livid- 
looking  fish,  just  flaked  here  and  there  with  the  bread 
that  has  been  persuaded  to  stay  on.  And,  provided  you 
have  enough  fat  in  the  pan— there  should  always  be 
enough  to  immerse  the  article  ;  therefore  use  a  deep  iron 
or  enameled  pan — there  can  be  but  two  reasons  why  you 
fail.  Your  fat  has  not  been  hot  enough,  or  your  crumbs 
have  not  been  fine  and  even. 

Many  suppose  when  the  fat  bubbles  and  boils  in  the 
pan  that  it  is  quite  hot ;  it  is  far  from  being  so.  Others 
again  are  so  much  nearer  the  truth  that  they  know  it 
must  become  silent,  that  is,  boil  and  cease  to  boil,  before 
it  is  ready,  but  even  that  is  not  enough;  it  must  be  silent 
some  time,  smoke,  and  appear  to  be  on  the  point  of  burn- 
ing, then  drop  a  bit  of  bread  in;  if  it  crisps  and  takes 
color  directly,  quickly  put  in  your  articles. 

These  articles,  whether  cutlets  or  fish,  must  have  been 
carefully  prepared,  or  herein  may  lie  the  second  cause  of 
failure.  Any  cookery  book  will  give  you  directions  how 
to  crumb,  follow  them  ;  but  what  some  do  not  tell  you 
is,  that  your  bread-crumbs  should  be  finely  sifted;  every 

55 


$6  Culture  and  Cooking. 

coarse  crumb  is  liable  to  drop  off  and  bring  with  it  a 
good  deal  of  the  surrounding  surface. 

I  also  follow  the  French  plan  in  using  the  Q,gg,  and 
mix  with  it  oil  and  water  in  the  proportion  of  three 
eggs,  one  tablespoonful  of  oil,  one  of  water,  and  a  little 
salt,  beat  together  and  use.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  keep  a 
supply  of  panure  or  dried  bread-crumbs  always  ready. 
Cut  any  slices  of  baker's  bread,  dry  them  in  a  cool  oven 
so  that  they  remain  quite  colorless,  or  they  will  not  do 
for  the  purpose.  When  as  dry  as  crackers,  crush  under 
a  rolling-pin,  and  sift ;  keep  in  a  jar  for  use. 

In  no  branch  of  cooking  is  excellence  more  appreci- 
ated than  in  that  of  frying.  A  dish  of  filets  de  sole  or 
cutlets,  crisp  and  golden  brown,  is  an  ornament  to  any 
table,  and  is  seldom  disdained  by  any  one.  Apropos  of 
filets  de  sole;  it  is  very  high-sounding  yet  very  attainable, 
as  I  shall  show.  I  was  staying  with  a  friend  early  in 
spring,  a  lady  always  anxious  for  table  novelties.  "  Oh, 
do  tell  me  what  fish  to  order,  I  should  like  something 
fried,  now  that  you  are  here  to  tell  cook  how  to  do  it ; 
she  hasn't  the  wildest  idea,  although  she  would  be 
astounded  to  hear  me  say  so."  "Have  you  ever 
had  flounders  ?"  I  asked.  "  Flounders  !"  My  friend's 
pretty  nose  went  up  the  eighth  of  an  inch,  and  her  con- 
fidence in  my  p(^ers  as  counselor  went  down  to  zero. 
*'  Flounders  !  but  they  are  a  very  common  fish  you 
know."  "I  know  they  are  very  delicious,"  I  answered. 
"  Order  them,  and  trust  me ;  but  I  must  coax  the 
autocrat  of  your  kitchen  to  allow  me  to  cook  and  pre- 
pare them  myself." 

An  hour  before  dinner  I  went  into  the  kitchen,  put 
at  least  a  pound  of  lard  into  a  deep  frying-pan,  and 
set  it  where  it  would  get  gradually  hot,  then  I  turned 


On  Frying  and  Broiling.  57 

my  attention  to  the  fish  ;  they  were  thick,  firm  floun- 
ders, and  were  ready  cleaned,  scraped,  and  the  heads 
off.  I  then  proceeded  to  hone  one  in  the  following 
way  :  Take  a  sharp  knife  and  split  the  flounder  right 
down  the  middle  of  the  back,  then  run  the  knife  care- 
fully between  the  flesh  and  bones  going  toward  the  edge. 
You  haye  now  detached  one  quarter  of  the  flesh  from 
the  bone,  do  the  other  half  in  the  same  way,  and  when 
the  back  is  thus  entirely  loose  from  the  bone,  turn  the 
fish  over  and  do  the  same  with  the  other  part.  You  will 
now  find  you  can  remove  the  bone  whole  from  the  fish, 
detaching,  as  you  do  so,  any  flesh  still  retaining  the 
bone,  then  you  have  two  halves  of  the  fish  ;  cut  away 
the  fins,  and  you  have  four  quarters  of  solid  fish.  Now 
see  if  the  fat  is  very  hot,  set  it  forward  while  you  wipe 
your  fish  dry,  and  dip  each  piece  in  milk,  then  in  flour. 
Try  if  the  fat  is  hot  by  dropping  a  crumb  into  it ;  if  it 
browns  at  once,  put  in  the  fish.  When  they  are  beauti- 
fully brown,  which  will  be  in  about  ten  minutes,  take 
them  up  in  the  colander,  and  then  lay  them  on  a  towel 
to  absorb  any  fat,  lay  them  on  a  hot  dish,  and  garnish 
with  slices  of  lemon  and  parsley  or  celery  tops. 

Now  when  this  dish  made  its  appearance,  my  friend's 
husband,  a  Ion  vivant,  greeted  it  with,  *'Aha!  Filets 
de  sole  d,  la  Delmonico,^^  and  as  nothing  to  the  con- 
trary was  said  until  dinner  was  over,  he  ate  them  under 
the  impression  that  they  were  \eT\idh\Q  filets  de  sole. 
Of  course  I  can't  pretend  to  say  whether  M.  Delmonico 
imports  his  soles,  or  uses  the  homely  flounder  ;  but  I  do 
know  that  one  of  his  frequenters  knew  no  difference. 

Oysters  should  be  laid  on  a  cloth  to  drain  thoroughly, 
then  rolled  in  fine  sifted  cracker  dust,  and  dropped  into 
very  hot  fat;  do  not  put  more  oysters  in  the  pan  than 
3* 


58  Culture  and  Cooking, 

will  fry  without  one  overlapping  the  other.  Very  few 
minutes  will  brown  them  beautifully,  if  your  fat  was  hot 
enough,  and  as  a  minute  too  long  toughens  and  shrinks 
them,  be  very  careful  that  it  browns  a  cube  of  bread  al- 
most directly,  before  you  begin  the  oysters.  Egg  and 
bread-crumb  may  be  used  instead  of  cracker  dust,  but  it 
is  not  the  proper  thing,  and  is  a  great  deal  more  trouble. 
Should  you  be  desirous  of  using  it,  however,  the  oysters 
must  be  carefully  wiped  dry  before  dipping  them;  while 
for  cracker  dust  they  are  not  wiped,  but  only  drained 
well. 

Fish  of  any  kind,  fried  in  batter  a  la  Careme  (see 
recipe),  is  very  easy  to  do,  and  very  nice. 

Carefully  save  veal,  lamb,  beef,  and  pork  drippings. 
Keep  a  crock  to  put  it  in,  and,  clarified  as  I  shall  direct, 
it  is  much  better  than  lard  for  many  purposes,  aud  for 
frying  especially  ;  it  does  not  leave  the  dark  look  that  is 
sometimes  seen  on  articles  fried  in  lard.  The  perfection 
of  "friture,"  or  frying-fat,  according  to  Gouffe,  is  equal 
parts  of  lard  and  beef  fat  melted  together. 

Yet  there  are  families  where  dripping  is  never  used — 
is  looked  upon  as  unfit  to  use — while  the  truth  is  that 
many  persons  quite  unable  to  eat  articles  fried  in  lard 
would  find  no  inconvenience  from  those  fried  in  beef  fat. 
It  is  as  wholesome  as  butter,  and  far  better  for  the 
purpose.  Butter,  indeed,  is  only  good  for  frying  such 
things  as  omelets  or  scrambled  eggs ;  things  that  are 
cooked  in  a  very  short  time,  and  require  no  great  degree 
of  heat. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  oil,  than  which,  for  fish, 
nothing  can  be  better.  Yet  it  can  only  be  used  once, 
and  is  unsuitable  for  things  requiring  long-sustained 
heat,  as  it  soon  gets  bitter  and  rank. 


On  Frying  ajid  Broiling.  59 

Do  not  be  airaid  to  put  a  pound  or  two  of  fat  in  your 
pan  for  frying ;  it  is  quite  as  economical  as  to  put  less 
for  it  can  be  used  over  and  over  again,  a  pail  or  crock 
being  kept  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  it.  Always  in 
returning  it  to  the  crock  pour  it  through  a  fine  strainer, 
so  that  no  sediment  or  brown  particles  may  pass  which 
would  spoil  the  next  frying. 

To  clarify  dripping,  when  poured  from  the  meat-pan, 
it  should  go  into  a  bowl,  instead  of  the  crock  in  which 
you  wish  to  keep  it.  Then  pour  into  the  bowl  also  some 
boiling  water,  and  add  a  little  salt,  stir  it,  and  set  it 
away.  Next  day,  or  when  cold,  run  a  knife  round  the 
bowl,  and  (unless  it  is  pork)  it  will  turn  out  in  a  solid 
cake,  leaving  the  water  and  impurities  at  the  bottom. 
Now  scrape  the  bottom  of  your  dripping,  and  put  it  in 
more  boiling  water  till  it  melts,  then  stir  again,  another 
pinch  of  salt  add,  and  let  it  cool  again.  When  you  take 
off  the  cake  of  fat,  scrape  it  as  before,  and  it  is  ready  to 
be  melted  into  the  general  crock,  and  will  now  keep  for 
months  in  cool  weather.  If  you  are  having  frequent 
joints  it  is  as  well  to  do  all  your  dripping  together,  once 
a  week  ;  but  do  not  leave  it  long  at  any  season  with  wa- 
ter under  it,  as  that  would  taint  it.  Fat  skimmed  from 
boiled  meat,  pot-au-feu,  before  the  vegetables,  etc.,  go 
in,  is  quite  as  good  as  that  from  roast,  treated  in  the 
same  way. 

Frying  in  batter  is  very  easy  and  excellent  for  some 
things,  such  as  warming  over  meat,  being  far  better 
than  eggs  and  crumbs.  Careme  gives  the  following 
recipe,  which  is  excellent : 

Three  quarters  of  a  pound  of  sifted  flour,  mixed  with 
two  ounces  of  butter  melted  in  warm  water ;  blow  the 
butter  off  the  water  into  the  flour  first,  then  enough  of 


6o  Culture  and  Cooking, 

the  water  to  make  a  soft  paste,  which  beat  smooth,  then 
more  warm  water  till  it  is  batter  thick  enough  to  mask 
the  back  of  a  spoon  dipped  into  it,  and  salt  to  taste ;  add 
the  last  tiling  the  whites  of  two  eggs  well  beaten. 

Another  batter,  called  a  la  Provengale,  is  also  exceed- 
ingly good,  especially  for  articles  a  little  dry  in  them- 
selves, such  as  chickens  to  be  warmed  over,  slices  of  cold 
veal,  etc. 

Take  same  quantity  of  flour,  two  yolks  of  eggs,  four 
tablespoonfuls  of  oil,  mix  with  cold  water,  and  add 
whites  of  eggs  and  salt  as  before.  Into  this  batter  I 
sometimes  put  a  little  chopped  parsley,  and  the  least  bit 
of  powdered  thyme,  or  grated  lemon -peel,  or  nutmeg ; 
this  is,  however,  only  a  matter  of  taste. 

Broilikg  is  the  simplest  of  all  forms  of  cooking,  and 
is  essentially  English.  To  broil  well  is  very  easy  with 
a  little  attention.  A  brisk  clear  fire,  not  too  high  in 
the  stove,  is  necessary  to  do  it  with  ease  ;  yet  if,  as 
must  sometimes  happen,  to  meet  the  necessities  of  other 
cooking,  your  fire  is  very  large,  carefully  fix  the  gridiron 
on  two  bricks  or  in  any  convenient  manner,  to  prevent 
the  meat  scorching,  then  have  the  gridiron  very  hot  be- 
fore putting  your  meat  upon  it ;  turn  it,  if  chop  or 
steak,  as  soon  as  the  gravy  begins  to  start  on  the  upper 
side  ;  if  allowed  to  remain  without  turning  long,  the 
gravy  forms  a  pool  on  the  top,  which,  when  turned,  falls 
into  the  fire  and  is  lost ;  the  action  of  the  heat,  if  turned 
quickly,  seals  the  pores  and  the  gravy  remains  in  the 
meat.  If  the  fire  is  not  very  clear,  put  a  cover  over  the 
meat  on  the  gridiron,  it  will  prevent  its  blackening  or 
burning — if  the  article  is  thick  I  always  do  so— and  it  is 
an  especially  good  plan  with  birds  or  chickens,  which 
are  apt  to  be  raw  at  the  joints  unless  this  is  done ;  in- 


On  Frying  and  Broiling.  6i 

deed,  with  the  latter,  I  think  it  a  good  way  to  put  them 
in  a  hot  oven  ten  minutes  before  they  go  on  to  broil, 
then  have  a  spoonful  of  mditre  d/hotel  butter  to  lay  on 
the  breast  of  each.  Young  spring  chickens  are  some- 
times very  dry,  in  which  case  dip  them  in  melted  but- 
ter, or,  better  still,  oil  them  all  over  a  little  while  be- 
fore cooking.  There  is  nothing  more  unsightly  than  a 
sprawling  dish  of  broiled  chickens  ;  therefore,  in  prepar- 
ing them  place  them  in  good  form,  then,  with  a  gentle 
blow  of  the  rolling-pin,  break  the  bones  that  they  may 
remain  so. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

KOASTIl^G. 

Ik  spite  of  Brillat-Savarin's  maxim  that  one  may  be- 
come a  cook,  but  must  be  born  a  rotisseur,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  one  may  also,  by  remembering  one  or  two 
things,  become  a  very  good  "roaster"  (to  translate  the 
untranslatable),  especially  in  our  day,  when  the  oven  has 
taken  the  place  of  the  spit,  although  a  great  deal  of 
meat  is  spoiled  in  roasting ;  a  loin  of  lamb  or  piece  of 
beef,  that  comes  to  the  table  so  pale  that  you  can't  tell 
whether  it  has  been  boiled  or  merely  wilted  in  the  oven, 
is  an  aggravation  so  familiar,  that  a  rich  brown,  well- 
roasted  joint  is  generally  a  surprise.  Perhaps  the  cook 
will  tell  you  she  has  had  the  "hottest  kind  of  an  oven;" 
but  then  she  has  probably  also  had  a  well  of  water 
underneath  it,  the  vapor  from  which,  arising  all  the 
time,  has  effectually  soddened  the  meat,  and  checked 
the  browning.  The  surface  of  roast  meat  should  be 
covered  with  a  rich  glaze,  scientifically  called  "osma- 
zone."  That  the  meat  may  be  thus  glazed,  it  should 
always  go  into  a  hot  oven,  so  that,  as  the  gravy  exudes, 
it  may  congeal  on  the  outside,  thus  sealing  up  the  pores. 
The  general  plan,  however,  is  to  put  meat  into  a  warm 
oven  an  hour  or  two  earlier  than  it  should  go,  with  a 
quantity  of  water  and  flour  underneath  it.  The  result  in 
hot  weather  I  have  known  to  be  very  disagreeable,  the 
tepid  oven  having,  in  fact,  given  a  stale  taste  to  the  joint 

63 


Roasting,  63 

before  it  began  to  cook,  and  it  at  all  times  results  in 
flavorless,  tough  meat.  There  is  no  time  saved,  either, 
in  putting  the  meat  in  while  the  oven  is  yet  cool.  Heat 
up  the  oven  till  it  is  quite  brisk,  then  put  the  meat  in  a 
pan,  in  which,  if  it  is  fat,  you  require  no  water  ;  if  very 
lean,  you  may  put  half  a  teacup,  just  enough  to  prevent 
the  pan  burning ;  you  may  rub  a  little  flour  over  the 
joint  or  not,  as  you  please,  but  never  more  than  the  sur- 
face moisture  absorbs  ;  have  no  clinging  particles  of 
flour  upon  the  joint,  neither  put  salt  nor  pepper  upon 
the  meat  before  it  goes  into  the  oven  ;  salt  draws  out  the 
gravy,  which  it  is  your  object  to  keep  in,  and  the  flavor 
of  pepper  is  entirely  changed  by  the  parching  it  undergoes 
when  on  the  surface  of  the  meat,  the  odor  of  scorched 
pepper,  while  cooking,  being  very  offensive  to  refined 
nostrils.  This  does  not  occur  when  pepper  is  not  on 
the  surface ;  for  the  inside  of  birds,  in  stuffing,  and  in 
meat  pies  it  is  indispensable,  and  the  flavor  undergoes 
no  change.  This  remark  on  pepper  applies  also  to 
broiling  and  frying.  Always  pepper  after  the  article  is 
cooked,  and  both  for  appearance  and  delicacy  of  flavor 
white  pepper  should  always  be  used  in  preference  to 
black. 

Meat,  while  in  the  oven,  should  be  carefully  turned 
about  so  that  it  may  brown  equally,  and  when  it  has 
been  in  half  the  time  you  intend  to  give  it,  or  when  the 
upper  surface  is  well  browned,  turn  it  over.  When  it 
comes  out  of  the  oven  put  it  on  a  hot  dish,  then  care- 
fully pour  off  the  fat  by  holding  the  corner  of  the  meat 
pan  over  your  dripping-pan,  and  very  gently  allowing 
the  fat  to  run  off  ;  do  not  shake  it ;  when  you  see  the 
thick  brown  sediment  beginning  to  run  too,  check  it ;  if 
there  is  still  much  fat  on  the  surface,  take  it  off  with  a 


64  Culture  and  Cooking. 

spoon  ;  then  pour  into  the  pan  a  little  boiling  water  and 
salt,  in  quantity  according  to  the  quantity  of  sediment 
or  glaze  in  the  pan,  and  with  a  spoon  rub  off  every  speck 
of  the  dried  gravy  on  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  pan. 
Add  no  flour,  the  gravy  must  be  thick  enough  with  its 
own  richness.  If  you  have  added  too  much  water,  so 
that  it  looks  poor,  you  may  always  boil  it  down  by  set- 
ting the  pan  on  the  stove  for  a  few  minutes  ;  but  it  is 
better  to  put  very  little  water  at  first,  and  add  as  the 
richness  of  the  gravy  allows.  Now  you  have  a  rich 
brown  gravy,  instead  of  the  thick  whitey-brown  broth 
so  often  served  with  roast  meat.  Every  drop  of  this 
gravy  and  that  from  the  dish  should  be  carefully  saved 
if  left  over. 

Save  all  dripping,  except  from  mutton  or  meat  with 
which  onions  are  cooked,  for  purposes  which  I  shall 
indicate  in  another  place. 

Veal  and  pork  require  to  be  very  thoroughly  cooked. 
For  them,  therefore,  the  oven  must  not  be  too  hot,  nei- 
ther must  it  be  lukewarm,  a  good  even  heat  is  best ;  if 
likely  to  get  too  brown  before  it  is  thoroughly  cooked, 
open  the  oven  door. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

BOILIKG. 

BoiLiiJrG  is  one  of  the  things  about  which  cooks  are 
most  careless  ;  theoretically  they  almost  always  know 
meat  should  be  slowly  boiled,  but  their  idea  of  "slow  "  is 
ruled  by  the  fire  ;  they  never  attempt  to  rule  that.  There 
is  a  good  rule  given  by  Gouffe  as  to  what  slow  boiling 
actually  is :  the  surface  of  the  pot  should  only  show 
signs  of  ebullition  at  one  side,  just  an  occasional  bubble. 
Simmering  is  a  still  slower  process,  and  in  this  the  pot 
should  have  only  a  sizzling  round  one  part  of  the  edge. 
All  fresh  meat  should  boil  slowly ;  ham  or  com  beef 
should  barely  simmer.  Yet  they  must  not  go  off  the 
boil  at  all,  which  would  spoil  fresh  meat  entirely  ;  steep- 
ing in  water  gives  a  flat,  insipid  taste. 

All  vegetables  except  potatoes,  asparagus,  peas,  and 
cauliflower  should  boil  as  fast  as  possible  ;  these  four 
only  moderately.  Most  vegetables  are  boiled  far  too  long. 
Cabbage  is  as  delicate  as  cauliflower  in  the  summer  and 
fall  if  boiled  in  plenty  of  water,  to  which  a  salt  spoon- 
ful of  soda  has  been  added,  as  fast  as  possible  for  twenty 
minutes  or  half  an  hour,  then  drained  and  dressed.  In 
winter  it  should  be  cut  in  six  or  eight  pieces,  hoiled  fast , 
in  plenty  of  water,  for  half  an  hour,  no  longer.  Always 
give  it  plenty  of  room,  let  the  water  boil  rapidly  when 
you  put  it  in .  the  pot,  which  set  on  the  hottest  part  of 

65 


d^  Culture  and  Cooking. 

the  fire  to  come  to  that  point  again,  and  you  will  have  no 
more  strong,  rank,  yellow  stuff  on  your  table,  no  bad  odor 
in  your  house.  Peas  require  no  more  than  twenty  minutes' 
boiling  if  young  ;  asparagus  the  same  ;  the  latter  should 
always  be  boiled  in  a  saucepan  deep  enough  to  let  it 
stand  up  in  the  water  when  tied  up  in  bunches,  for  this 
saves  the  heads.  Potatoes  should  be  poured  off  the 
minute  they  are  done,  and  allowed  to  stand  at  the  back  of 
the  stove  with  a  clean  cloth  folded  over  them.  They  are 
the  only  vegetable  that  should  be  put  into  cold  water. 
When  new,  boiling  water  is  proper.  When  quite  ripe 
they  are  more  floury  if  put  in  cold  water. 

Soups. — As  I  have  before  said,  I  do  not  pretend  to  give 
many  recipes,  only  to  tell  you  how  to  succeed  with  the 
recipes  given  in  other  books.  I  shall,  therefore,  only 
give  one  recipe  which  I  know  is  a  novelty  and  one  for  the 
foundation  of  all  soups.  In  one  sense  I  have  done  the 
latter  already.  The  stock  for  glaze  is  an  excellent  soup 
before  it  is  reduced  ;  but  I  will  also  give  Jules  Gouffe's 
method  of  ma^vng  jpot-au-feu,  it  being  a  most  beautifully 
clear  soup. 

It  often  happens,  however,  that  you  have  sufficient 
stock  from  bones,  trimmings  of  meat,  and  odds  and  ends 
of  gravies,  which  may  always  be  turned  to  account ;  but 
the  stock  from  such  a  source,  although  excellent,  will 
not  always  be  clear  ;  therefore,  you  must  proceed  with  it 
in  the  following  manner,  unless  you  wish  to  use  it  for 
thick  soup  : 

Make  your  stock  boiling  hot  and  skim  well ;  then  have 
ready  the  whites  of  three  eggs  (I  am  supposing  you 
have  three  quarts  of  stock — one  Q.gg  to  a  quart),  to  which 
add  half  a  pint  of  cold  water  ;  whisk  well  together  ;  then 
add  half  a  pint  of  the  boiling  stock  gradually,  still  whisk- 


Boiling,  6y 

ing  the  eggs ;  then  stir  the  boiling  stock  rapidly,  pouring 
in  the  whites  of  eggs,  etc. ;  as  you  do  it,  stir  quickly  till 
nearly  boiling  again,  then  take  it  from  the  fire,  let  it  re- 
main till  the  whites  of  eggs  separate  ;  then  strain  through 
a  clean,  fine  cloth  into  a  basin.  This  rule  once  learned 
will  clear  every  kind  of  soup  or  jelly. 

There  are  many  people  who  are  good  cooks,  yet  fail  in 
clear  soup,  which  is  with  them  semi-opaque,  while  it 
should  be  like  sherry.  The  cause  of  this  opacity  is  gen- 
erally quick  boiling  while  the  meat  is  in.  This  gives  it 
a  milky  appearance.  After  the  stock  is  once  made  and 
clear,  quick  boiling  will  do  no  harm,  but  of  course  wastes 
the  soup,  unless  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  making  it 
stronger.  A  word  here  about  coloring  soup  :  Most  per- 
sons resort  to  burnt  sugar,  and,  very  carefully  used,  it  is 
not  at  all  a  bad  makeshift.  But  how  often  have  we  a 
rich-looking  soup  put  before  us,  the  vermicelli  appear- 
ing to  repose  under  a  lake  of  strong  russet  houillo7i,  but 
which,  on  tasting,  we  find  suggestive  of  nothing  but 
burnt  sugar  and  salt,  every  bit  of  flavor  destroyed  by  the 
acrid  coloring.  Sometimes  stock  made  by  the  recipe  for 
poUau-feu  (to  follow)  requires  no  color  ;  this  depends 
on  the  beef  ;  but  usually  all  soup  is  more  appetizing  in 
appearance  for  a  little  browning,  and  for  this  purpose  I 
always  use  burnt  onions  in  preference  to  anything  else. 
If  you  have  none  in  store  when  the  soup  is  put  on,  put 
a  small  onion  in  the  oven  (or  on  the  back  of  the  stove ; 
should  you  be  baking  anything  the  odor  would  taint)  ; 
turn  it  often  till  it  gets  quite  black,  but  not  charred. 
Then  put  it  to  the  soup  ;  it  adds  a  fine  flavor  as  well  as 
color,  and  you  need  not  fear  overdoing  it. 

Soup  that  is  to  be  reduced  must  be  very  lightly  salted; 
for  this  reason  salt  is  left  out  altogether  for  glaze,  as  the 


68  Culture  and  Cooking, 

reduction  causes  the  water  only  to  evaporate,  the  salt 
remains. 

Gouffe's  Pot-au-Feu. — Four  pounds  of  lean  beef, 
six  quarts  of  water,  six  ounces  of  carrot,  six  of  turnip, 
six  of  onion,  half  an  ounce  of  celery,  one  clove,  salt. 

Put  the  meat  on  in  cold  water,  and  just  before  it 
comes  to  the  boil  skim  it,  and  throw  in  a  wineglass  of 
cold  water,  skim  again,  and,  when  it  is  ^^  on  the  boil," 
again  throw  in  another  wineglass  of  cold  water ;  do  this 
two  or  three  times.  The  object  of  adding  the  cold  water 
is  to  keep  it  just  off  the  boil  until  all  the  scum  has  risen, 
as  the  boiling  point  is  when  it  comes  to  the  surface,  yet 
once  having  boiled,  the  scum  is  broken  up,  and  the  soup 
is  never  so  clear. 

The  meat  must  simmer  slowly,  not  toil,  for  three 
hours  before  the  vegetables  are  added,  then  for  a  couple 
of  hours  more. 

It  is  necessary  to  be  very  exact  in  the  proportions  of 
vegetables ;  but,  of  course,  after  having  weighed  them  for 
Boups  once  or  twice,  you  will  get  to  know  about  the  size 
of  a  carrot,  turnip,  etc.,  that  will  weigh  six  ounces. 
The  exact  weight  is  given  until  the  eye  is  accustomed 
to  it. 

This  soup  strained,  and  boiled  down  to  one  half,  be- 
comes consomme. 

Celery  Cream  is  a  most  delicious  and  little-known 
white  soup,  and  all  lovers  of  good  things  will  thank  me 
for  introducing  it. 

Have  some  nice  veal  stock,  or  the  water  in  which 
chickens  have  been  boiled,  reduced  till  it  is  rich  enough, 
will  do,  or  some  very  rich  mutton  broth,  but  either  of 
the  former  are  preferable  ;  then  put  on  a  half  cup  of  rice 
in  a  pint  of  rich  milk,  and  grate  into  it  the  white  part 


Boiling,  69 

and  root  of  two  heads  of  celery.  Let  the  rice  milk  cook 
very  slowly  at  the  back  of  the  stove,  adding  more  milk 
before  it  gets  at  all  stiff  \  when  tender  enough  to  mash 
through  a  coarse  sieve  or  fine  colander  add  it  to  the 
stock,  which  must  have  been  strained  and  be  quite 
free  from  sediment,  season  with  salt  and  a  little  wliite 
pepper  or  cayenne,  boil  all  together  gently  a  few  min- 
utes. It  should  look  like  rich  cream,  and  be  strongly 
flavored  with  celery.  Of  course  the  quantity  of  rice, 
milk,  and  celery  must  depend  on  the  quantity  of  stock 
you  have.  I  have  given  the  proportion  for  one  quart, 
which,  with  the  milk,  etc.,  added,  would  make  about 
three  pints  of  soup. 


CHAPTER  X. 

8AU0ES. 

Talleyrakd  said  England  was  a  country  with  twen- 
ty-four religions  and  only  one  sauce.  He  miglit  have 
said  two  sauces,  and  he  would  have  been  literally  right 
as  regards  both  England  and  America.  Everything  is 
served  with  brown  sauce  or  white  sauce.  And  how 
often  the  white  sauce  is  like  bookbinder's  paste,  the 
brown,  a  bitter,  tasteless  brown  mess  !  Strictly  speak- 
ing, perhaps,  the  French  have  but  two  sauces  either, 
espagnole,  or  brown  sauce,  and  white  sauce,  which  they 
call  the  mother  sauces  ;  but  what  changes  they  ring  on 
these  mother  sauces  !  The  espagnole  once  made,  with  no 
two  meats  is  it  served  alike  in  flavor,  and  in  this  matter 
of  flavor  the  artist  appears.  In  making  brown  sauce  for 
any  purpose,  bethink  yourself  of  anything  there  may  be 
in  your  store-room  with  which  to  vary  its  flavor,  taking 
care  that  it  shall  agree  with  the  meat  for  which  it  is  in- 
tended. The  ordinary  cook  flies  at  once  to  Worcester- 
shire or  Harvey  sauce,  which  are  excellent  at  times,  but 
'^  toujour s  perdrix  "  is  not  always  welcome.  A  pinch  of 
mushroom  powder,  or  a  few  chopped  oysters,  are  excel- 
lent with  beef  or  veal ;  so  will  be  a  spoonful  of  ^lontpel- 
lier  butter  stirred  in,  or  curry,  not  enough  to  yellow  the 
sauce,  but  enough  to  give  a  dash  of  piquancy.  A  pic- 
kled walnut  chopped,  or  a  gherkin  or  two,  go  admirably 
with  mutton  or  pork  chops.     In  short,  this  is  just  where 

70 


Sauces,  yi 

imagination  and  brains  will  tell  in  cooking,  and  little 
essays  of  invention  may  be  tried  witb  profit.  But  be- 
ware of  trying  too  much ;  make  yourself  perfect  in  one 
thing  before  venturing  on  another. 

EsPAGXOLE,  or  brown  sauce,  is  simply  a  rich  stock  well 
flavored  with  vegetables  and  herbs,  and  thickened  with 
a  piece  of  roux  or  with  brown  flour. 

White  Sauce  is  one  of  those  things  we  rarely  find  per- 
fectly made ;  bad,  it  is  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  badness ; 
good,  it  is  delicious.  Those  who  have  tried  to  have  it 
good,  and  failed,  I  beg  to  try  the  following  method  of 
making  it :  Take  an  ounce  and  a  half  of  butter  and  a 
scant  tablespoonf  ul  of  flour,  mix  both  with  a  spoon  into  a 
paste  ;  when  smooth  add  half  a  pint  of  warm  milk,  a  small 
teaq)oonful  of  salt,  and  the  sixth  part  of  one  of  white  pep- 
per ;  set  it  on  the  fire  till  it  boils,  and  is  thick  enough 
to  mask  the  back  of  the  spoon  transparently  ;  then  add  a 
squeeze  of  lemon  juice,  and  another  ounce  and  a  half  of 
fresh  butter  ;  stir  this  till  quite  blended.  This  sauce  is 
the  foundation  for  many  others,  and,  for  some  purposes, 
the  beaten  yolk  of  an  egg  is  introduced  when  just  o5 
the  boil.  Capers  may  be  added  to  it,  or  chopped  mush- 
rooms, or  chopped  celery,  or  oysters,  according  to  the 
use  for  which  it  is  intended.  The  object  of  adding  the 
second  butter  is  because  boiling  takes  away  the  flavor  of 
butter  ;  by  stirring  half  of  it  in,  without  boiling,  you  re- 
tain it. 


CHAPTER  XL 

WARMING  OVER. 

Hash  is  a  peculiarly  American  institution.  In  no 
other  country  is  eyery  remnant  of  cold  meat  turned  into 
that  one  unvarying  dish.  What  do  I  say  ?  remnants  of 
cold  meat  !  rather  joints  of  cold  meat,  a  roast  of  beef 
of  which  the  tenderloin  had  sufficed  for  the  first  day's 
dinner,  the  leg  of  mutton  from  which  a  few  slices  only 
have  been  taken,  the  fillet  of  veal,  available  for  so  many 
delicate  dishes,  all  are  ruthlessly  turned  into  the  all- 
pervading  hash.  The  curious  thing  is  that  people  are 
not  fond  of  it.  Men  exclaim  against  it,  and  its  name 
stinks  in  the  nostrils  of  those  unhappy  ones  whose  home 
is  the  boarding-house. 

Yet  hash  in  itself  is  not  a  bad  dish  ;  when  I  say  it  is 
a  peculiarly  American  institution,  I  mean,  that  when 
English  people  speak  of  hash,  they  mean  something 
quite  different — meat  warmed  in  slices.  Our  hash,  in 
its  best  form — that  is,  made  with  nice  gravy,  garnished 
with  sippets  of  toast  and  pickles,  surrounded  with 
mashed  potatoes  or  rice — is  dignified  abroad  by  the  name 
of  mince,  and  makes  its  appearance  as  an  elegant  little 
entree.  Nor  would  it  be  anathematized  in  the  way  it 
is  witli  us,  if  it  were  only  occasionally  introduced.  It 
is  the  familiarity  that  has  led  to  contempt.  ''^But 
what  shall  I  do?"  asks  the  young  wife  distressfully; 

73 


Warming  Over.  73 

^*  John  likes  joints,  and  he  and  I  and  Bridget  can't  pos- 
sibly eat  a  roast  at  a  meal." 

Very  true  ;  and  it  is  to  just  such  perplexed  young 
housekeepers  that  I  hope  this  chapter  will  be  especially 
useful— that  is  to  say,  small  families  with  moderate 
means  and  a  taste  for  good  things.  In  this,  as  in  many 
other  ways,  large  families  are  easier  to  cater  for ;  they 
can  consume  the  better  part  of  a  roast  at  a  meal,  and 
the  remains  it  is  no  great  harm  to  turn  into  hash,  al- 
though even  they  might,  with  little  trouble  and  expense, 
have  agreeable  variety  introduced  into  their  bill  of  fare. 

In  England  and  America  there  is  great  prejudice 
against  warmed-over  food,  but  on  the  continent  one  eats 
it  half  the  time  in  some  of  the  most  delicious-made 
dishes  without  suspecting  it.  Herein  lies  4:he  secret. 
With  us  and  our  transatlantic  cousins  the  warming  over 
is  so  artlessly  done,  that  the  hard  fact  too  often  stares 
at  us  from  out  the  watery  expanse  in  which  it  reposes. 

One  great  reason  of  the  failure  to  make  warmed-over 
meat  satisfactory  is  the  lack  of  gravy.  On  the  goodness 
of  this  (as  well  as  its  presence)  depends  the  success  of 
your  rechauffe. 

The.  glaze,  for  which  I  have  given  the  recipe,  renders 
you  at  all  times  independent  in  this  respect,  but  at  the 
same  time  it  should  not  alone  be  depended  on.  Every 
drop  of  what  remains  in  the  dish  from  the  roast  should 
be  saved,  and  great  care  be  taken  of  all  scraps,  bones, 
and  gristle,  which  should  be  carefully  boiled  down  to 
save  the  necessity  of  flying  to  the  glaze  for  every  pur- 
pose. I  will  here  give  several  recipes,  which  I  think 
may  be  new  to  many  readers. 

Salmi  of  Cold  Meat  is  exceedingly  good.  Melt  butter 
in  a  saucepan,  if  for  quite  a  small  dish  two  ounces  will 
4 


74  Culture  and  Cooking, 

be  sufficient ;  when  melted,  stir  in  a  little  flour  to 
thicken  ;  let  it  brown,  but  not  burn,  or,  if  you  are  pre- 
paring the  dish  in  haste,  put  in  some  brown  flour  ;  then 
add  a  glass  of  white  or  red  wine  and  a  cup  of  broth,  or  a 
cup  of  water  and  a  slice  of  glaze,  a  sprig  or  two  of 
thyme,  parsley,  a  small  onion,  chopped,  and  one  bay 
leaf,  pepper,  and  salt.  Simmer  all  thoroughly  (all 
savory  dishes  to  which  wine  is  added  should  simmer 
long  enough  for  the  distinct  "winey"  flavor  to  disap- 
pear, only  the  strength  and  richness  remaining).  Strain 
this  when  simmered  half  an  hour  and  lay  in  the  cold 
meat.  Squeeze  in  a  little  lemon  juice  and  draw  the 
stew-pan  to  the  back  of  the  stove,  but  where  it  will  cook 
no  longer,  or  the  meat  will  harden.  Serve  on  toast,  and 
pour  the  sauce  over.  A  glass  of  brandy  added  to  this 
dish  when  the  meat  goes  in  is  a  great  addition,  if  an 
extra  fine  salmi  is  desired.  By  not  allowing  the  flour 
and  butter  to  brown  and  using  white  wine,  this  is  a  very 
fine  sauce  in  which  to  warm  cold  chicken,  veal,  or  any 
wliite  meat. 

BcEUF  A  LA  Jaediniere.— Put  In  a  fireproof  dish  if 
you  have  it,  or  a  thick  saucepan,  a  pint  of  beef  broth,  a 
small  bunch  each  of  parsley,  chervil,  tarragon — very  lit- 
tle of  this — shallot  or  onion,  capers,  pickled  gherkins, 
of  each  or  any  a  teaspoonful  chopped  fine  ;  roll  a  large 
tablespoonful  of  butter  with  a  dessert-spoonful  of  brown 
flour,  stir  it  in  ;  then  take  slices  of  underdone  beef,  with 
a  blunt  knife  hack  each  slice  all  over  in  fine  dice,  but 
not  to  separate  or  cut  up  the  slices ;  then  pepper  and 
salt  each  one  and  lay  it  in  with  the  herbs,  sprinkle  a 
layer  of  herbs  over  the  beef  and  cover  closely  ;  then  stand 
the  dish  in  the  oven  to  slowly  cook  for  an  hour,  or,  if 
you  use  a  stew-pan,  set  in  a  pan  of  boiling  water  on  the 


Warming  Over,  75 

stove  for  an  hour  where  the  water  will  just  boil.  Serve 
on  a  dish  surrounded  with  young  carrots  and  turnips  if 
in  season,  or  old  ones  cut. 

Beef  au  Gratis. — Cut  a  little  fat  bacon  or  pork  very 
thin,  sprinkle  on  it  chopped  parsley,  onion,  and  mush- 
rooms (mushroom  powder  will  do)  and  bread-crumbs ; 
then  put  in  layers  of  beef,  cut  thick,  and  well  and  closely 
hacked,  then  another  layer  of  bacon  or  pork  cut  thin  as 
a  wafer,  and  of  seasoning,  crumbs  last ;  pour  over  enough 
broth  or  gravy  to  moisten  well,  in  which  a  little  brandy 
or  wine  may  be  added  if  an  especially  good  dish  is 
desired  ;  bake  slowly  an  hour. 

PsEUDO  Beefsteak. — Cut  cold  boiled  or  roast  beef  in 
thick  slices,  broil  slowly,  lay  in  a  hot  dish  in  which  you 
have  a  large  spoonful  of  Montpellier  butter  melted, 
sprinkle  a  little  mushroom  powder  if  you  desire,  and 
garnish  with  fried  potato. 

Cutlets  a  la  Jardiniere. — Trim  some  thick  cutlets 
from  a  cold  leg  of  mutton,  or  chops  from  the  loin,  dip 
them  in  frying  batter,  a  la  Car  erne,  fry  crisp  and  quickly, 
and  serve  wreathed  round  green  peas,  or  a  ragout  made  as 
follows  :  Take  young  carrots,  turnips,  green  peas,  white 
beans  ;  stew  gently  in  a  little  water  to  which  the  bones 
of  the  meat  and  trimmings  have  been  added  (and  which 
must  be  carefully  removed  not  to  disfigure  the  vegeta- 
bles). Encircle  this  ragout  with  the  fried  cutlets,  and 
crown  with  a  cauliflower. 

Cromesquis  of  lamb  is  a  Polish  recipe.  Cut  some 
underdone  lamb — mutton  will  of  course  do— quite  small  ; 
also  some  mushrooms,  cut  small,  or  the  powder.  Put  in 
a  saucepan  apiece  of  glaze  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg,  with 
a  little  water  or  broth,  warm  it  and  thicken  with  yolks 
of  two  eggs,  just  as  you  would  make  boiled  custard,  that 


;76  Culture  and  Cooking, 

is,  without  letting  it  come  to  the  boil,  or  it  will  curdle; 
then  add  the  mushrooms  and  meat,  let  all  get  cold,  and 
divide  it  into  small  pieces,  roll  in  bread-crumbs  sifted, 
then  in  Qgg,  then  in  crumbs  again,  and  fry  in  yery  hot 
fat;  or  you  may,  after  rolling  in  bread-crumbs,  lay  each 
piece  in  a  spoon  and  dip  it  into  frying  batter ;  let  the 
extra  batter  run  off,  and  drop  the  cromesquis  into  the 
hot  fat.  These  will  be  good  made  of  beef  and  rolled  up 
in  a  bard  of  fat  pork  cut  thin,  and  fried;  serve  with  sauce 
piquant  made  thus  :  Take  some  chopped  parsley,  onion, 
and  pickled  cucumbers,  simmer  till  tender,  and  thicken 
with  an  equal  quantity  of  butter  and  flour.  Of  course 
your  own  brightness  will  tell  you  that,  if  you  are  in 
haste,  a  spoonful  of  Montpellier  butter,  the  same  of  flour, 
melted  in  a  little  water,  to  which  you  add  a  teaspoonful 
of  vinegar,  will  make  an  excellent  sauce  piquant,  and 
this  same  is  excellent  for  anything  fried,  as  breaded 
chops,  croquettes,  etc.  I  may  here  say,  that  where  two 
or  three  herbs  are  mentioned  as  necessary,  for  instance, 
parsley,  tarragon,  and  chervil,  if  you  have  no  tarragon 
you  must  leave  it  out,  or  chervil  the  same.  It  is  only  a 
matter  of  flavoring,  at  the  same  time  flavor  is  a  great 
deal,  and  these  French  herbs  give  that  indescribable 
cachet  to  a  dish  w^hich  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  French 
cooking.  Therefore  if  you  are  a  wise  matron  you  will 
have  a  supply  on  hand,  even  if  only  bought  dry  from  the 
druggist. 

MiROTOK  OF  Beef. — Peel  and  cut  into  thin  slices  two 
large  onions,  put  them  in  a  stew-pan  with  two  ounces  of 
butter,  place  it  over  a  slow  fire  ;  stir  the  onions  round  till 
they  are  rather  brown,  but  not  in  the  least  burnt ;  add  a 
teaspoonful  of  brown  flour,  mix  smoothly,  then  moisten 
with  half  a  pint  of  broth,  or  water  with  a  little  piece  of 


Warming  Over.  77 

glaze,  three  salt-spoonfuls  of  salt  unless  your  broth  was 
salted,  then  half  the  quantity  or  less,  two  of  sugar,  and 
one  of  pepper.  Put  in  the  cold  beef,  cut  in  thin  slices 
as  lean  as  possible,  let  it  remain  five  minutes  at  the  back 
of  the  stove  ;  then  seiTe  on  a  very  hot  dish  garnished 
with  fried  potatoes,  or  sippets  of  toast.  To  vary  the 
flavor,  sometimes  put  a  spoonful  of  tarragon  or  plain 
vinegar,  or  a  teaspoonful  of  mushroom  powder,  or  a 
pinch  of  curry,  unless  objected  to,  or  a  few  sweet  herbs. 
In  fact,  as  you  may  see,  variety  is  as  easy  to  produce  as 
it  is  rare  to  meet  with  in  average  cooking,  and  depends 
more  on  intelligence  and  thoughtfulness  than  on  any- 
thing else. 

The  simplest  of  all  ways  of  warming  a  joint  that  is 
not  far  cut,  is  to  wrap  it  in  thickly  buttered  paper,  and 
put  it  in  the  oven  again,  contriving,  if  possible,  to  cover 
it  closely,  let  it  remain  long  enough  to  get  liot  through, 
not  to  cook.  By  keeping  it  closely  covered  it  will  get 
hot  through  in  less  time,  and  the  steam  will  prevent  it 
getting  hard  and  dry  ;  make  some  gravy  hot  and  serve 
with  the  meat.  If  your  gravy  is  good  and  plentiful, 
your  meat  will  be  as  nice  as  the  first  day;  without  gravy 
it  would  be  an  unsatisfactory  dish.  If  you  cannot 
manage  to  cover  the  joint  in  the  oven,  you  may  put  it  in 
a  pot  over  the  fire  without  water,  but  with  a  dessert 
spoonful  of  vinegar  to  create  steam  ;  let  it  get  hot 
through,  and  serve  as  before. 

For  the  third  day  the  meat  may  be  warmed  up  in 
any  of  the  ways  I  am  going  to  mention,  repeating  once 
more,  that  you  must  have  gravy  of  some  kind,  or  else 
carefully  make  some,  with  cracked  bones,  gristle,  etc., 
stewed  long,  and  nicely  flavored  with  any  kii^d  of 
sauce. 


7^  Culture  and  Cooking. 

Eagout.— A  yery  nice  ragout  may  be  made  from  cold 
meat  thus :  Slice  the  meat,  put  it  in  a  stew-pan  in  which 
an  onion,  or  several  if  you  like  them,  has  been  sliced; 
squeeze  half  a  lemon  into  it,  or  a  dessert-spoonful  of  vine- 
gar, cover  closely  without  water,  and  when  it  begins  to 
cook,  set  the  stew-pan  at  the  back  of  the  stove  for  three 
quarters  of  an  hour,  shaking  it  occasionally.  The  onions 
should  now  be  brown;  take  out  the  meat,  dredge  in  a  little 
flour,  stir  it  round,  and  add  a  cup  of  gravy,  pepper,  salt, 
and  a  small  quantity  of  any  sauce  or  flavoring  you  prefer; 
stew  gently  a  minute  or  two,  then  put  the  meat  back  to 
get  hot,  and  serve;  garnish  with  sippets  of  toast,  or 
pickles. 

A  NICE  LITTLE  BREAKFAST  DISH  is  made  thus :  Cut 
two  long  slices  of  cold  meat  and  three  of  bread,  buttered 
thickly,  about  the  same  shape  and  size  ;  season  the  meat 
with  pepper,  salt,  and  a  little  finely  chopped  parsley;  or, 
if  it  is  veal,  a  little  chopped  ham  ;  then  lay  one  slice  of 
bread  between  two  of  meat,  and  have  the  other  two  slices 
outside  ;  fasten  together  with  short  wooden  skewers.  If 
you  have  a  quick  oven,  put  it  in  ;  and  take  care  to  baste 
with  butter  thoroughly,  that  the  bread  may  be  all  over 
crisp  and  brown.  If  you  can't  depend  on  your  oven,  fry 
it  in  very  hot  fat  as  you  would  crullers  ;  garnish  with 
sprigs  of  parsley,  and  serve  very  hot. 

To  Warm  a  Good-sized  Piece  of  Beef. — Trim 
it  as  much  like  a  thick  fillet  as  you  can ;  cut  it 
horizontally  half  way  through,  then  scoop  out  as  much 
as  you  can  of  the  meat  from  the  inside  of  each  piece. 
Chop  the  meat  fine  that  you  have  thus  scooped  out, 
season  with  a  little  finely  chopped  parsley  and  thyme,  a 
shred  of  onion,  if  you  like  it;  or  if  you  have  celery  boil 
a  little  of  the  coarser  part  till  tender,  chop  it  and  add 


Warming  Over,  79 

as  mnch  bread  finely  crumbled  as  you  have  meat,  and  a 
good  piece  of  butter  ;  add  pepper  and  salt,  and  make  all 
into  a  paste  with  an  Qgg,  mixed  with  an  equal  quantity 
of  gravy  or  milk  ;  fill  up  the  hollow  in  the  meat  and  tie, 
or  still  better,  sew  it  together.  You  may  either  put  this 
in  a  pot  with  a  slice  of  pork  or  bacon,  and  a  cup  of 
gravy;  or  you  may  brush  it  over  with  beaten  egg,  cover 
it  with  crumbs,  and  pour  over  these  a  cup  of  butter, 
melted,  so  that  it  moistens  every  part;  and  bake  it,  taking 
care  to  baste  well  while  baking  ;  serve  with  nice  gravy. 

Beef  Olives  are  no  novelty  to  the  ear,  but  it  is  a 
novel  thing  to  find  them  satisfactory  to  the  palate. 

Take  some  stale  bread-crumbs,  an  equal  quantity  of 
beef  finely  chopped,  some  parsley,  and  thyme  ;  a  little 
scraped  ham  if  you  have  it,  a  few  chives,  or  a  slice  of 
onion,  all  chopped  small  as  possible  ;  put  some  butter  in 
a  pan,  and  let  this  force-meat  just  simmer,  not  fry,  in  it 
for  ten  minutes.  While  this  is  cooking,  cut  some  un- 
derdone oblong  slices  of  beef  about  half  an  inch  thick, 
hack  it  with  a  sharp  knife  on  hoth  sides  ;  then  mix  the 
cooked  force-meat  with  the  yolk  of  an  egg  and  a  table- 
spoonful  of  gravy ;  put  a  spoonful  of  this  paste  in  the 
center  of  each  slice  of  meat  and  tie  it  up  carefully  in  the 
shape  of  an  egg.  Then  if  you  have  some  nice  gravy, 
thicken  it  with  a  piece  of  butter  rolled  in  flour,  roll  each 
olive  slightly  in  flour  and  lay  it  in  the  gravy  and  let  it 
very  gently  simmer  for  half  an  hour.  A  few  chopped 
oysters  added  to  the  gravy  will  be  a  great  addition.  Or 
you  may  lay  each  olive  on  a  thin  slice  of  fat  pork,  roll  it 
up,  tie  it,  dip  it  in  flour,  and  bake  in  a  quick  oven  until 
beautifully  brown. 

To  Warm  over  Cold  Mutton-. — An  excellent  and 
simple  way  is  to  cut  it,  if  Idin,  into  chops,  or  leg,  into 


8o  Culture  and  Cooking. 

thick  collops,  and  dip  each  into  ^^g  well  beaten  with  a 
tablespoonful  of  milk,  then  mfine  bread-crumbs  and  fry 
in  plenty  of  very  hot  fat. 

If  your  crumbs  are  not  very  fine  and  eyen,  the  larger 
crumbs  will  fall  off,  and  the  appearance  be  spoilt. 
These  chops  will  be  almost  as  nice,  if  quickly  fried,  as 
fresh  cooked  ones.  They  will  also  be  excellent  if,  instead 
of  being  breaded,  they  are  dipped  into  thick  batter  (see 
recipe)  and  fried  brown  in  the  same  way.  This  method 
answers  for  any  kind  of  meat,  chicken  thus  warmed  over 
being  especially  good.  The  batter,  or  Qgg  and  bread- 
crumbs form  a  sort  of  crust  which  keeps  it  tender  and 
juicy.  Any  attempt  to  fry  cold  meat  without  either  re- 
sults in  a  hard,  stringy,  uneatable  dish. 

White  Meat  of  ajsy  kind  is  excellent  warmed  over 
in  a  little  milk,  in  which  you  have  cut  a  large 
onion,  and,  if  you  like  it,  a  slice  of  salt  pork  or 
ham,  and  a  little  sliced  cucumber,  if  it  is  summer; 
thicken  with  the  yolks  of  one  or  two  eggs,  added 
after  the  whole  has  simmered  twenty  minutes  ;  take 
care  the  egg  thickens  in  the  gravy,  but  does  not  hoil, 
or  it  will  curdle.  If  it  is  in  winter,  chop  a  teaspoonful  of 
pickled  cucumber  or  capers  and  add  just  on  going  to 
table.  In  summer  when  you  have  the  sliced  cucumber, 
squeeze  half  a  lemon  into  the  gravy,  the  last  thing,  to 
give  the  requisite  dash  of  acid.  You  may  vary  the  above 
by  adding  sometimes  a  few  chopped  oysters  ;  at  others, 
mushrooms,  or  celery.  The  last  must  be  put  in  with 
the  onion  and  before  the  meat. 

Deviled  Meat. — Our  better  halves  are  usually  fond 
of  this,  especially  for  breakfast  or  lunch. 

For  this  dish  take  a  pair  of  turkey  or  chicken  drumsticks 
or  some  nice  thick  wedges  of  underdone  beef  or  mutton. 


Warming  Over.  8 1 

score  them  deeply  with  a  knife  and  rub  them  oyer  -with 
a  sauce  made  thus:  A  teaspoonful  of  vinegar,  the  same 
of  Harvey  or  Worcestershire  sauce,  the  same  of  mustard, 
a  little  cayenne,  and  a  tablespoonful  of  salad  oil,  or  but- 
ter melted ;  mix  all  till  liker  cream,  and  take  care  your 
meat  is  thoroughly  moistened  all  over  with  the  mixture, 
then  rub  your  gridiron  with  butter.  See  that  the  fire  is 
clear,  and  while  the  gridiron  is  getting  hot,  chop  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  parsley  very  fine,  mix  it  up  with  a  piece  of 
butter  the  size  of  a  walnut,  and  lay  this  in  a  dish  which 
you  will  put  to  get  hot.  Then  put  the  meat  to  be  grilled 
on  the  fire  and  turn  often,  so  that  it  will  not  bum;  when 
hot  through  and  brown,  lay  it  in  the  hot  dish,  lay  an- 
other hot  dish  over  it,  and  serve  as  quickly  as  possible 
with  hot  plates. 

Or  the  gi'ill  may  be  served  with  what  Soyer  calls  his 
Mepliistophelian  sauce,  which  he  especially  designed  for 
serving  with  deviled  meats.  Chop  six  shallots  or  small 
onions,  wash  and  press  them  in  the  corner  of  a  clean 
cloth,  put  them  in  a  stew-pan  with  half  a  wineglass  of 
chili  vinegar  (pepper  sauce),  a  chopped  clove,  a  tiny  bit 
of_garlic,  two  bay  leaves,  an  ounce  of  glaze;  boil  all  to- 
gether ten  minutes  ;  then  add  four  tablespoonfuls  of 
tomato  sauce,  a  little  sugar,  and  ten  of  broth  thickened 
with  roux  (or  water  will  do  if  you  have  no  broth). 

It  will  be  remarked  that  in  many  French  recipes  a 
little  sugar  is  ordered.  This  is  not  meant  to  sweeten,  or 
even  be  perceptible;  but  it  enriches,  softens,  tones,  as  it 
were,  the  other  ingredients  as  salt  does. 

Soter's    Feitadella   (twenty  recipes  in  one). — Put 

half  a  pound  of  bread-crumb  to  soak  in  a  pint  of  cold 

water;  take  the  same  quantity  of  any  kind  of  roast,  or 

boiled  meat,  with   a  little  fat,  chop   it  fine,  press  the 

4* 


82  Culture  and  Cooking, 

bread  in  a  clean  cloth  to  extract  the  water ;  put  in  a 
stew-pan  two  ounces  of  butter,  a  tablespoonful  of  chopped 
onions  ;  fry  two  minutes  and  stir,  then  add  the  bread, 
stir  and  fry  till  rather  dry,  then  the  meat ;  season  with  a 
teaspoonful  of  salt,  half  of  pepper,  and  a  little  grated  nut- 
meg, and  lemon  peel;  stir  continually  till  very  hot,  then 
add  two  eggs,  one  at  a  time;  mix  well  and  pour  on  a  dish 
to  get  cold.  Then  take  a  piece,  shape  it  like  a  small  ^gg, 
flatten  it  a  little,  Qgg  and  bread-crumb  it  all  over,  tak- 
ing care  to  keep  in  good  shape.  Do  all  the  same  way, 
then  put  into  a  frying-pan  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  lard 
or  dripping,  let  it  get  hot,  and  put  in  the  pieces,  and 
saute  (or  as  we  call  it  ''fry")  them  a  fine  yellow  brown. 
Serve  very  hot  with  a  border  of  mashed  potatoes,  or  any 
garniture  you  fancy.  Sauce  piquant,  or  not,  as  you 
please. 

The  above  can  be  made  with  any  kind  of  meat,  poul- 
try, game,  fish,  or  even  vegetables;  hard  eggs,  or  potatoes, 
may  be  introduced  in  small  quantities,  and  they  may  be 
fried  instead  of  sauteed  (frying  in  the  French  and  strict 
sense,  meaning  as  I  need  hardly  say,  entire  immersion  in 
very  hot  fat).  To  fry  them  you  require  at  least  two 
pounds  of  fat  in  your  pan. 

Oysters  or  lobsters  prepared  as  above  are  excellent. 

Boileau  says,  '^  Un  diner  rechauffe  ne  valut  ja7nais 
Hen."  But  I  think  a  good  French  cook  of  the  present 
day  would  make  him  alter  his  opinion. 

Indeed  Savarin  quotes  a  friend  of  his  own,  a  notable 
gourmand,  who  considered  spinach  cooked  on  Monday 
only  reached  perfection  the  following  Saturday,  having 
each  day  of  the  week  been  warmed  up  with  butter,  and 
each  day  gaining  succulence  and  a  more  marrowy  consist- 
ency. 


Warming  Over.  83 

The  only  trouble  I  find  in  relation  to  this  part  of  my 
present  task  is  the  difficulty  of  knowing  when  to  leave 
off.  There  are  so  many  ways  of  warming  meats  to  ad- 
vantage—and in  every  one  way  there  is  the  suggestion 
for  another — that  I  suffer  from  an  emharras  de  richesse, 
and  have  had  difficulty  in  selecting.  Dozens  come  to  my 
mind,  blanquettes,  patties,  curries,  as  I  write;  but  as 
this  is  not,  I  have  said,  to  be  a  recipe  book,  I  forbear.  Of 
one  thing  I  am  quite  sure  :  when  women  once  know  how  to 
make  nice  dishes  of  cold  meat  they  will  live  well  where 
they  now  live  badly,  and  for  less  money;  and  *'hash"  will 
be  relegated  to  its  proper  place  as  an  occasional  and  ac- 
ceptable dish. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

OK  FRIANDISES. 

*'  Le  role  du  gourmand  finit  avec  Tentremets,  et  celui  du  friand 
commence  au  dessert. — Grimod  de  la  Reyniere. 

American  ladies,  as  a  rule,  excel  in  cake  making  and 
preserving,  and  I  feel  that  on  that  head  I  have  very  little 
to  teach ;  indeed,  were  they  as  accomplished  in  all 
branches  of  cooking  as  in  making  dainty  sweet  dishes 
this  book  would  be  uncalled  for. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  their  undoubted  taste  and  ability 
in  making  ^'friandises,''^  it  seems  to  me  a  few  recipes 
borrowed  from  what  the  French  call  la  grande  cuisine, 
and  possible  of  execution  at  home,  will  be  welcome  to 
those  who  wish  to  vary  the  eternal  ice  cream  and  char- 
lotte russe,  with  other  sweets  more  elegant  and  likely  to 
be  equally  popular. 

Iced  Souffle  a  la  Byeok. — One  pint  of  sugar 
syrup  of  32  degrees  (get  this  at  a  druggist's  if 
you  do  not  understand  sugar  boiling),  three  gills  of 
strained  raspberry  juice,  one  lemon,  one  gill  of  maras- 
chino, fifteen  yolks  of  eggs,  two  ounces  of  chocolate 
drops,  half  a  pint  of  very  thick  cream  whipped. 

Method  of  making  this  and  the  next  recipe  is  as  follows: 
Mix  the  syrup  and  yolks  of  eggs,  strain  into  a  warm 
bowl,  add  the  raspberry  and  lemon  juice  and  maras- 
chino, whisk  till  it  creams  well,  then  take  the  bowl  out 

84 


On  Friandises.  8$ 

of  the  hot  water  and  whisk  ten  minutes  longer ;  add  the 
chocolate  drops  and  whipped  cream ;  lightly  fill  a  case 
or  mold,  and  set  in  a  freezer  for  two  hours,  then  coyer 
the  surface  with  lady-fingers  (or  sponge  cake)  dried  in 
the  oven  a  pale  brown,  and  rolled.     Serve  at  once. 

Another  frozen  souffle  is  as  follows  : 

One  pint  of  syrup,  32  degrees,  half  a  pint  of  noyeau, 
half  a  pint  of  cherry  juice,  two  ounces  of  bruised 
macaroons,  half  a  pint  of  thick  cream  whipped,  made  in 
the  same  way  as  the  last.  I  may  here  say  that  the  fruit 
juices  can  be  procured  now  at  all  good  druggists,  so  that 
these  souffles  are  very  attainable  in  winter,  and  as  noy- 
eau and  maraschino  do  not  form  part  of  the  stores  in  a 
family  of  small  means,  I  will  give  in  this  chapter  recipes 
for  the  making  of  very  fair  imitations  of  the  genuine 
liqueurs. 

Biscuit  Glace  a  la  Charles  Dicken^s. — One  pint 
of  sjrrap  (32°),  fifteen  yolks  of  eggs,  three  gills  of  peach 
pulp,  colored  pink  with  cochineal,  one  gill  of  noyeau, 
half  a  pint  of  thick  cream,  and  a  little  chocolate  water- 
ice,  made  with  half  a  pint  of  syrup  and  four  ounces  of 
the  best  chocolate  smoothly  mixed  and  frozen  ready. 

Mix  syrup,  yolks,  peach  pulps,  noyeau,  and  a  few 
drops  of  vanilla,  whip  high  ;  mix  with  the  whipped 
cream,  and  set  in  ice  for  one  hour  and  a  half  in  brick- 
shaped  molds,  then  turn  out  (if  very  firm),  and  cut  in 
slices  an  inch  thick,  and  coat  them  all  over,  or  on  top 
and  sides,  with  the  chocolate  ice,  smoothing  with  a  knife 
dipped  in  cold  water ;  serve  in  paper  cases. 

Biscuit  Glace  a  la  Thackeray. — One  pint  of  syrup 
(32°),  one  pint  of  strawberry  pulp,  fifteen  yolks  of  eggs, 
one  ounce  of  vanilla  sugar  (flavor  a  little  sugar  with  va- 
nilla), half  a  pint  of  thick  cream. 


86  Culture  and  Cooking, 

Mix  syrup,  yolks,  strawberry,  and  yanilla  sugar,  whip- 
ping as  before,  then  add  the  whipped  cream  lightly ;  fill 
paper  cases,  either  round  or  square  ;  surround  each  with 
a  band  of  stiff  paper,  to  reach  half  an  inch  above  the 
edge  of  the  case,  the  bands  to  be  pinned  together  to  se- 
cure them  ;  place  them  in  a  freezer.  Wlien  about  to  send 
to  table,  remove  the  bands  of  paper,  and  cover  with 
macaroons  bruised  fine  and  browned  in  the  oven.  The 
bands  of  paper  are  meant  to  give  the  biscuit  the  appear- 
ance of  having  risen  while  supposed  to  bake. 

These  delicious  ices  were  invented  by  Francatelli,  the 
Queen  of  England's  chief  cook,  to  do  homage  to  the 
different  great  men  whose  names  they  bear,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  preparing  dinners  given  in  their  honor.  They 
read  as  if  somewhat  intricate,  but  any  lady  who  has  ever 
had  ice  cream  made  at  home,  and  had  the  patience  to 
make  charlotte  russe,  need  not  shrink  appalled  before 
these  novelties,  or  fear  for  a  successful  result. 

Baba  is  a  cake  many  call  for  at  a  confectioner's,  yet 
few,  if  any  one,  attempts  to  make  it  at  home.  That 
the  recipes  generally  offered  do  not  lead  to  success  may  be 
one  reason,  and  I  offer  the  following,  quite  sure,  if  ac- 
curately followed,  such  a  baba  will  result  as  never  was 
eaten  outside  of  Paris. 

Baba. — One  pound  of  flour  ;  take  one  quarter  of  it, 
and  make  a  sponge  with  half  an  ounce  of  compressed 
yeast  and  a  little  warm  water,  set  it  to  rise,  make  a  hole 
in  the  rest  of  the  flour,  add  to  it  ten  ounces  of  butter, 
three  eggs,  and  a  dessert-spoonful  of  sugar,  a  little  salt, 
unless  your  butter  salts  it  enough,  which  is  generally 
the  case.  Beat  all  together  well,  then  add  five  more  eggs, 
one  at  a  time,  that  is  to  say,  add  one  ^gg  and  beat  well, 
then  another  and  beat  again,  and  so  on  until  the  five  are 


On  Friandises,  8/ 

used.  Wlien  the  paste  leayes  the  bowl  it  is  beaten 
enough,  but  not  before ;  then  add  the  sponge  to  it,  and 
a  large  half  ounce  of  citron  cliopped,  the  same  of  cur- 
rants, and  an  ounce  and  a  half  of  sultana  raisins,  seed- 
less. Let  it  rise  to  twice  its  size,  then  bake  it  in  an  oven 
of  dark  yellow  paper  heat ;  the  small  round  babas  are  an 
innovation  of  the  pastry-cook  to  enable  him  to  sell  them 
uncut.  But  the  baba  proper  should  be  baked  in  a  large, 
deep,  upright  tin,  such  as  a  large  charlotte  russe  mold, 
when  they  keep  for  several  days  fresh,  and  if  they  get 
stale,  make  delicious  fritters,  soaked  in  sherry  and 
dipped  in  frying  batter. 

In  some  cases,  however,  it  may  be  preferred  to  make 
them  as  usually  seen  at  French  pastry  cooks  ;  for  this 
purpose  you  require  a  dozen  small-sized  round  char- 
lotte russe  molds,  which  fill  half  full  only,  as  they 
rise  very  much ;  bake  these  in  a  hotter  oven,  light  brown 
paper  heat;  try  with  a  twig  as  you  would  any  other  cake, 
if  it  comes  out  dry  it  is  done  ;  then  prepare  a  syrap  as 
follows  :  Boil  half  pound  of  sugar  in  a  pint  of  water,  add 
to  this  the  third  of  a  pint  of  rum,  and  some  apricot 
pulp — peach  will  of  course  do — and  boil  all  together  a 
few  minutes  ;  pour  this  half  an  inch  deep  in  a  dish,  and 
stand  the  cake  or  cakes  in  it ;  it  should  drink  up  all  the 
syrup,  you  may  also  sprinkle  some  over  it.  If  any  symp 
remains,  use  it  to  warm  over  your  cake  when  stale, 
instead  of  the  sherry. 

Baba  was  introduced  into  France  by  Stanislas  Lec- 
zinski,  king  of  Poland,  and  the  father-in-law  of  Louis 
XIV. ;  and  his  Polish  royal  descendanta»still  use  with 
it,  says  Careme,  a  syrup  made  of  Malaga  wine  and 
one  sixth  part  of  eau  de  tanaisie. 

But,  although  our  forefathers  seemed  to  have  relished 


SB  Culture  and  Cooking. 

tansy  yery  much,  to  judge  from  old  recipe  books,  I 
doubt  if  such  flavoring  would  be  appreciated  in  our 
time. 

Savarins— commonly  called  wine  cake  by  New  York 
pastry  cooks — are  made  as  follows  : 

One  pound  of  flour,  of  which  take  one  quarter  to  make 
a  sponge,  using  half  an  ounce  of  Grerman  compressed  yeast, 
and  a  little  warm  milk ;  when  it  has  risen  to  twice  its 
bulk,  add  one  gill  of  hot  milk,  two  eggs,  and  the  rest  of 
the  flour ;  mix  well ;  then  add  one  more  Qgg  and  beat, 
another,  still  beating;  then  add  three  quarters  of  a 
pound  of  fresh  butter,  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  salt,  half 
an  ounce  of  sugar,  and  half  a  gill  of  hot  milk,  beat  well; 
then  add  eggs,  one  at  a  time,  beating  continually,  until 
you  have  used  five  more.  Out  in  small  dice  three  ounces 
of  candied  orange  peel;  butter  a  tin,  which  should  be  deep 
and  straight-sided — a  tin  pudding  boiler  is  not  a  bad 
thing — and  sprinkle  with  chopped  almonds.  Fill  the 
mold  half  full,  and  when  risen  to  twice  its  bulk,  bake  in 
a  moderate  oven,  dark  yellow  paper  heat.  When  served, 
this  cake  should  stand  in  a  dish  of  syrup,  flavored  with 
rum,  as  for  baba,  or  with  sherry  wine. 

BoucHEES  DES  Dames,  a  very  ornamental  and  delicious 
little  French  cake,  is  sufiBciently  novel  to  deserve  a  place 
here,  I  think.  Make  any  nice  drop  cake  batter  (either 
sponge,  or  sponge  with  a  little  butter  in  it  I  prefer) ;  drop 
one  on  buttered  paper  and  bake  ;  if  it  runs,  beat  in  a 
little  more  flour  and  sugar,  but  not  much,  or  your  cakes 
will  be  brittle  ;  they  should  be  the  size,  when  done,  of  a 
fifty-cent  pieces  and  I  find  half  a  teaspoonf ul  of  batter 
dropped  generally  makes  them  about  right.  Have  a 
tin  cutter  or  tin  box  lid,  if  you  have  no  cutter  so  small, 
about  the  size,  and  with  it  trim  each  cake  when  baked  ; 


On  Friandises,  89 

then  take  half  the  number  and  spread  some  with  a  very 
thin  layer  of  red  currant  jelly,  others  with  peach  or 
raspberry ;  then  on  each  so  spread  put  a  cake  that  is 
unspread,  thus  making  a  tiny  sandwich  or  jelly  cake. 
If  you  have  different  sorts  of  jelly,  put  each  separate,  a^ 
you  must  adapt  the  flavor  of  your  icing  to  the  jelly. 
For  red  currant,  ice  with  chocolate  icing.  Eecipes  for 
icing  are  so  general  that  I  refer  you  to  your  cookery 
book.  Those  with  peach  may  have  white  icing,  flavored 
with  almond,  or  with  rum,  beating  in  a  little  more 
sugar  if  the  flavoring  dilutes  your  icing  too  much.  Al- 
mond flavoring  goes  well  with  raspberry.  Cakes  with 
raspberry  jelly  or  jam  should  be  iced  pink,  coloring  the 
icing  with  prepared  cochineal  or  cranberry  juice.  Thus 
you  have  your  cakes  brown,  pink,  and  white,  which  look 
very  pretty  mixed. 

The  process  of  icing  is  difficult  to  do  after  they  are  put 
together,  but  they  are  much  handsomer  this  way,  and 
keep  longer.  You  require,  to  accomplish  it,  a  good 
quantity  of  each  kind  of  icing,  and  a  number  of  little 
wooden  skewers ;  stick  one  into  each  cake  and  dip  it 
in  the  icing,  let  it  run  off,  then  stand  the  other  end  of 
the  skewer  in  a  box  of  sand  or  granulated  sugar.  The 
easiest  way  is  to  ice  each  half  cake  before  putting  in 
the  jelly ;  when  the  icing  is  hard  spread  with  jelly,  and 
put  together. 

CURA90A  may  be  successfully  imitated  by  pouring  over 
eight  ounces  of  the  thinly  pared  rind  of  very  ripe 
oranges  a  pint  of  boiling  water,  cover,  and  let  it  cool  ; 
then  add  two  quarts  of  brandy,  or  strong  French  spirit, 
cover  closely,  and  let  it  stand  fourteen  days,  shaking  it 
every  day.  Make  a  clarified  syrup  of  two  pounds  of 
sugar  into  one  pint  of  water,  well  boiled ;  strain  the 


90        .  Culture  and  Cooking. 

brandy  into  it,  leaving  it  coyered  close  another  day. 
Eub  up  in  a  mortar  one  drachm  of  potash,  with  a 
teaspoonful  of  the  liqueurs  ;  when  well  blended,  put  this 
into  the  liqueur,  and  in  the  same  way  pound  and  add 
a  drachm  of  alum,  shake  well,  and  in  an  hour  or  two 
filter  through  thin  muslin.  Eeady  for  use  in  a  week  or 
two. 

Makaschiko  . — Bruise  slightly  a  dozen  cherry  kernels, 
put  them  in  a  deep  jar  with  the  outer  rind  of  three  or- 
anges and  two  lemons,  cover  with  two  quarts  of  gin,  then 
add  syrup  and  leave  it  a  fortnight,  as  for  cura9oa.  Stir 
syrup  and  spirit  together,  leave  it  another  day,  run  it 
through  a  jelly  bag,  and  bottle.  Keady  to  use  in  ten 
days. 

NoYEAU. — Blanch  and  pound  two  pounds  of  bitter  al- 
monds, or  four  of  peach  kernels  ;  put  to  them  a  gallon  of 
spirit  or  brandy,  two  pounds  of  white  sugar  candy — or 
sugar  will  do— a  grated  nutmeg,  and  a  pod  of  vanilla  ; 
leave  it  three  weeks  covered  close,  then  filter  and  bottle  ; 
but  do  not  use  it  for  three  months.  To  be  used  with 
caution. 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 

FEENCH   CAiq^DY   AT  HOME. 

This  chapter  I  shall  have  to  make  one  of  recipes 
chiefly,  for  it  treats  of  a  branch  of  cooking  not  usually 
found  in  cookery  books,  or  at  least  there  is  seldom  any- 
thing on  the  art  of  confectionery  beyond  molasses  or 
cream  taffy  and  nougat.  These,  therefore,  I  shall  not 
touch  upon,  but'  rather  show  you  how  to  make  the  ex- 
pensive French  candies. 

The  great  art  of  making  these  exquisite  candies  is  in 
boiling  the  sugar,  and  it  is  an  art  easily  acquired  with, 
patience. 

Put  into  a  marbleized  saucepan  (by  long  experience  in 
Bugar-boiling  I  find  them  less  likely  to  bum  even  than 
brass,  and  I  keep  one  for  the  purpose)  one  pound  of 
sugar  and  half  a  pint  of  water ;  when  it  has  boiled  ten 
minutes  begin  to  try  it ;  have  a  bowl  of  water  with  a 
piece  of  ice  near  you,  and  drop  it  from  the  end  of  a 
spoon.  TVTien  it  falls  to  the  bottom,  and  you  can  take  it 
up  and  make  it  into  a  softish  ball  (not  at  all  sticky)  be- 
tween your  thumb  and  finger,  it  is  at  the  right  point ; 
remove  it  from  the  fire  to  a  cold  place ;  when  cool,  if 
perfectly  right,  a  thin  jelly-like  film  will  be  over  the 
surface,  not  a  sugary  one  ;  if  it  is  sugary,  and  you  want 
your  candy  very  creamy,  you  must  add  a  few  spoonfuls 
of  water,  return  to  the  fire  and  boil  again,  going  through. 

91 


92  Culture  and  Cooking. 

the  same  process  of  trying  it.  You  must  be  careful  that 
there  is  not  the  least  inclination  to  be  brittle  in  the  ball 
of  candy  you  take  from  the  water  ;  if  so,  it  is  boiled  a 
degree  too  high  ;  put  a  little  water  to  bring  it  back  again, 
and  try  once  more.  A  speck  of  cream  of  tartar  is  use- 
ful in  checking  a  tendency  in  the  syrup  to  go  to  sugar. 
"When  you  have  your  sugar  boiled  just  right  set  it  to 
cool,  and  when  you  can  bear  your  finger  in  it,  begin  to 
beat  it  with  a  spoon-;  in  ten  minutes  it  will  be  a  white 
paste  resembling  lard,  which  you  will  find  you  can  work 
like  bread  dough.  This,  then,  is  your  foundation, 
called  by  French  confectioners  fondant ;  with  your  fon- 
dant you  can  work  marvels.  But  to  begin  with  the 
simplest  French  candies. 

Take  a  piece  of  fondant,  flavor  part  of  it  with  vanilla, 
part  of  it  with  lemon,  color  yellow  (see  coloring  can- 
dies), and  another  part  with  raspberry,  color  pink  ;  make 
these  into  balls,  grooved  cones,  or  anything  that  strikes 
your  fancy,  let  them  stand  till  they  harden,  they  are 
then  ready  for  use. 

Take  another  part  of  yo^xY  fondant,  have  some  English 
walnuts  chopped,  flavor  with  vanilla  and  color  pink; 
work  the  walnuts  into  the  paste  as  you  would  fruit  into 
a  loaf  cake ;  when  mixed,  make  a  paper  case  an  inch 
wide  and  deep,  and  three  or  four  inches  long  ;  oil  it ; 
press  the  paste  into  it,  and  when  flrm  turn  it  out  and  cut 
into  cubes.  Or,  instead  of  walnuts,  use  chopped  al- 
monds, flavor  with  vanilla,  and  leave  the  fondant  white. 
This  makes  Vanilla  Almoi^-d  Cream. 

TuTTi  FiiUTTi  Candy. — Chop  some  almonds,  citron, 
a  fetff  currants,  and  seedless  raisins  ;  work  into  some 
fondant,  flavor  with  rum  and  lemon,  thus  making  Eo- 
man  punch,  or  with  vanilla  or  rasj)berry  ;  press  into  the 


French  Candy  at  Home.  93 

paper  forms  as  you  did  the  walnut  cream.  You  see  how 
you  can  ring  the  changes  on  these  bars,  varying  the 
flavoring,  inventing  new  combinations,  etc. 

FoKDANT  PAif  ACHE. — Take  -^oxxY  fondant,  divide  it  in 
three  equal  parts,  color  one  pink  and  flavor  as  you  choose, 
leave  the  other  white  and  flavor  also  as  you  please ; 
but  it  must  agree  with  the  pink,  and  both  must  agree 
with  the  next,  which  is  chocolate.  Melt  a  little  un- 
sweetened chocolate  by  setting  it  in  a  saucer  over  the 
boiling  kettle,  then  take  enough  of  it  to  make  your  third 
piece  of  fondant  a  fine  brown  ;  now  divide  the  white 
into  two  parts  ;  make  each  an  inch  and  a  half  wide,  and 
as  long  as  it  will ;  do  the  same  with  the  chocolate  fon- 
dant;  then  take  the  pink,  make  it  the  same  width  and 
length,  but  of  course,  not  being  divided,  it  will  be  twice 
as  thick ;  now  butter  slightly  the  back  of  a  plate,  or, 
better  still,  get  a  few  sheets  of  waxed  paper  from  the 
confectioner's  ;  lay  one  strip  of  the  chocolate  on  it,  then 
a  strip  of  white  on  that,  then  the  pink,  the  other  white, 
and  lastly  the  chocolate  again  ;  then  lightly  press  them 
to  make  them  adhere,  but  not  to  squeeze  them  out  of 
shape.  You  have  now  an  oblong  brick  of  parti-colored 
candy  ;  leave  it  for  a  few  hours  to  harden,  then  trim  it 
neatly  with  a  knife  and  cut  it  crosswise  into  slices  half 
an  inch  think,  lay  on  waxed  paper  to  dry,  turning  once 
in  a  while,  and  pack  away  in  boxes. 

If  jour  fondant  gets  very  hard  while  you  work,  stand 
it  over  hot  water  a  few  minutes. 

Creamed  candies  are  very  fashionable  just  now,  and, 
your  fondant  once  ready,  are  very  easy  to  make. 

Cream  Walnuts. — Make  ready  some  almonds,  some 
walnuts  in  halves,  some  hazelnuts,  or  anything  of  the 
sort  you  fancy ;  let  them  be  very  dry.    Hdke  fondant  made 


94  Culture  and  Cooking. 

from  a  pound  of  sugar,  set  it  in  a  bowl  in  a  saucepan  of 
boiling  water,  stirring  it  till  it  is  like  cream.  Then  having 
flavored  it  with  vanilla  or  lemon,  drop  in  your  nuts  one 
by  one,  taking  them  out  with  the  other  hand  on  the  end 
of  a  fork,  resting  it  on  the  edge  of  your  bowl  to  drain  for 
a  second,  then  drop  the  nut  on  to  a  waxed  or  buttered 
paper  neatly.  If  the  nut  shows  through  the  cream  it  is 
too  hot ;  take  it  out  of  the  boiling  water  and  beat  till  it 
is  just  thick  enough  to  mask  the  nut  entirely,  then  re- 
turn it  to  the  boiling  water,  as  it  cools  very  rapidly  and 
becomes  unmanageable,  when  it  has  to  be  warmed  over 
again. 

Veky  fine  chocolate  ckeams  are  made  as  follows  : 
Boil  half  a  pound  of  sugar  with  three  tablespoonfuls  of 
thick  cream  till  it  makes  a  soft  ball  in  water,  then  let  it 
cool.  When  cool  beat  it  till  it  is  very  white,  flavor  with  a 
few  drops  of  vanilla  and  make  it  into  balls  the  size  of  a  large 
pea;  then  take  some  unsweetened  chocolate  warmed,  mix 
it  with  a  piece  qI  fondant  melted — there  should  be  more 
chocolate  than  sugar — and  when  quite  smooth  and  thick 
enough  to  mask  the  cream,  drop  them  in  from  the  end 
of  a  fork,  take  them  out,  and  drop  on  to  wax  paper. 

Another  very  fine  candy  to  be  made  without  heat, 
and  therefore  convenient  for  hot  weather,  is  made  as 
follows  : 

Punch  Drops.— Sift  some  powdered  sugar.  Have 
ready  some  fine  white  gum-arabic,  put  a  tablespoonful 
with  the  sugar  (say  half  a  pound  of  sugar),  and  make  it 
into  a  firm  paste  ;  if  too  wet,  add  more  sugar,  flavor  with 
lemon  and  a  tiny  speck  of  tartaric  acid  or  a  very  little  lem- 
on juice.  Make  the  paste  into  small  balls,  then  take  more 
sugar  and  make  it  into  icing  with  a  spoonful  of  Santa 
Cruz  rum  and  half  the  white  of  an  Qgg,     Try  if  it 


French  Candy  at  Home,  95 

hardens,  if  not,  beat  in  more  sugar  and  color  it  a  bright 
pink,  then  dip  each  ball  in  the  pink  icing  and  harden 
on  wax  paper.  These  are  very  novel,  beautiful  to  look 
at,  and  the  flavors  may  vary  to  taste. 

To  MAKE  Cochineal  Coloeikg  which  is  quite 
Harmless. — Take  one  ounce  of  powdered  cochineal, 
one  ounce  of  cream  of  tartar,  two  drachms  of  alum, 
half  a  pint  of  water ;  boil  the  cochineal,  water,  and 
cream  of  tartar  till  reduced  to  one  half,  then  add  the 
alum,  and  put  up  in  small  bottles  for  use.  Yellow  is 
obtained  by  the  infusion  of  Spanish  saffron  in  a  little 
water,  or  a  still  better  one  from  the  grated  rind  of  a 
ripe  orange  put  into  muslin,  and  a  little  of  the  juice 
squeezed  through  it. 

Be  careful  in  boiling  the  sugar  for  fondant,  not  to  stir 
it  after  it  is  dissolved ;  stirring  causes  it  to  become  rough 
instead  of  creamy. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  CHAPTER  FOR  PEOPLE  OF  YERY  SMALL  MEAKS. 

I  AM  sorry  to  say  in  these  days  this  chapter  may  ap- 
peal to  many,  who  are  yet  not  to  be  called  "poor  peo- 
ple/' who  may  have  been  well-to-do  and  only  suffering 
from  the  pressure  of  the  times,  and  for  whose  cultivated 
appetites  the  coarse,  substantial  food  of  the  laboring  man 
(even  if  they  could  buy  it)  would  not  be  eatable,  who 
must  have  what  they  do  have  good,  or  starve.  But,  as 
some  of  the  things  for  which  I  give  recipes  will  seem 
over-economical  for  people  who  can  afford  to  buy  meat 
at  least  once  a  day,  I  advise  those  who  have  even  fifty 
dollars  a  month  income  to  skip  it ;  reminding  them,  if 
they  do  not,  "that  necessity  knows  no  law." 

A  bone  of  soup  meat  can  be  got  at  a  good  butcher's 
for  ten  or  fifteen  cents,  and  is  about  the  best  invest- 
ment, for  that  sum  I  know  of,  as  two  nourishing  and 
savory  meals,  at  least,  for  four  or  five  persons  can  be 
got  from  it. 

Carefully  make  a  nice  soup,  with  plenty  of  vegetables, 
rice,  or  any  other  thickening  you  like.  Your  bone  will 
weigh  from  four  to  six  pounds,  perhaps  ;  put  it  on  with 
water  according  to  size,  and  let  it  boil  down  slowly  until 
nice  and  strong.  If  you  have  had  any  scraps  of  meat  or 
bones,  put  them  also  to  your  soup. 

When  you  serve  it,  keep  back  a  cup  of  soup  and  a  few 

96 


Chapter  for  People  of  Very  Small  Means,     97 

of  the  Yege tables,  and  save  the  meat,  from  which  you 
can  make  a  very  appetizing  hash  in  the  following  way  : 
Take  the  meat  from  the  bone,  chop  it  with  some  cold 
potatoes  and  the  vegetables  you  saved  from  the  soup. 
Cold  stewed  onions,  boiled  carrots  or  turnips,  all  help  to 
make  the  dish  savory.  Chop  an  onion  very  fine,  unless 
you  have  cold  ones,  a  little  parsley  and  thyme,  if  liked, 
and  sometimes,  for  variety's  sake,  if  you  have  it,  a  pinch 
of  curry  powder,  not  enough  to  make  it  hot  or  yellow, 
yet  to  impart  piquancy.  If  you  have  a  tiny  bit  of  fried 
bacon  or  cold  ham  or  cold  pork,  chop  it  with  the  other 
ingredients,  mix  all  well,  moisten  with  the  cold  soup, 
and,  when  nicely  seasoned,  put  the  hash  into  an  iron 
frying-pan,  in  which  you  have  a  little  fat  made  hot ; 
pack  it  smoothly  in,  cover  it  with  a  pot-lid,  and  either 
set  it  in  a  hot  oven,  or  leave  it  to  brown  on  the  stove. 
If  there  was  more  soup  than  enough  to  moisten  the  hash, 
put  it  on  in  a  tiny  saucepan,  with  a  little  brown  flour 
made  into  a  paste  with  butter,  add  a  drop  of  tomato  cat- 
sup, or  a  little  stewed  tomato,  or  anything  you  have  for 
flavoring,  and  stir  till  it  boils.  Then  turn  the  hash  out 
whole  on  a  dish,  it  should  be  brown  and  crisp,  pour  the 
gravy  you  have  made  round  it,  and  serve.  For  a  change 
make  a  pie  of  the  hash,  pouring  the  gravy  in  through 
a  hole  in  the  top  when  done. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  a  very  nice  plain  paste 
can  be  made  with  a  piece  of  bread  dough,  to  which  you 
have  added  an  q^^^^,  and  some  lard,  dripping,  or  butter. 
The  dripping  is  particularly  nice  for  the  hash  pie,  and, 
as  you  need  only  a  piece  of  dough  as  large  as  an  orange, 
you  will  probably  have  enough  from  the  soup,  if  you 
skimmed  off  all  the  fat  before  putting  the  vegetables  in 
{^QQ  pot-au'feu) ;  work  your  dripping  into  the  dough, 
5 


98  Culture  and  Cooking, 

and  let  it  rise  well,  then  roll  as  ordinary  pie-crust.  Po- 
tato crust  is  also  very  good  for  plain  pies  of  any  sort,  but 
as  there  are  plenty  of  recipes  for  it,  I  will  not  give  one 
here. 

One  of  the  very  best  hashes  I  ever  ate  was  prepared 
by  a  lady  who,  in  better  times,  kept  a  very  fine  table. 
And  she  told  me  there  were  a  good  many  cold  beans 
in  it,  well  mashed ;  and  often  since,  when  taking  "trav- 
elers' hash"  in  an  hotel,  I  have  thought  of  that  savory 
dish  with  regret. 

Instead  of  making  your  chopped  meat  into  hash,  vary 
it,  by  rolling  the  same  mixture  into  egg-shaped  pieces, 
or  flat  cakes,  flouring  them,  and  frying  them  nicely  in 
very  hot  fat ;  pieces  of  pork  or  bacon  fried  and  laid 
round  will  help  out  the  dish,  and  be  an  improvement 
to  what  is  already  very  good. 

To  return  once  more  to  the  soup  bone.  If  any  one  of 
your  family  is  fond  of  marrow,  seal  up  each  end  of  the 
bone  with  a  paste  made  of  flour  and  water.  "When  done, 
take  off  the  paste,  and  remove  the  marrow.  Made  very 
hot,  and  spread  on  toast,  with  pepper  and  salt,  it  will  be 
a  relish  for  some  one's  tea  or  breakfast. 

In  this  country  there  is  a  prejudice  against  sheep's 
liver  ;  while  in  England,  where  beef  liver  is  looked  upon 
as  too  coarse  to  eat  (and  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  "cats- 
meat  man,"  or  cat  butcher),  sheep's  is  esteemed  next  to 
calf's,  and  it  is,  in  fact,  more  delicate  than  beef  liver. 
The  nicest  way  to  cook  it  is  in  very  thin  slices  (not  the 
inch-thick  pieces  one  often  sees),  each  slice  dipped  in 
flour  and  fried  in  pork  or  bacon  fat,  and  pork  or  bacon 
served  with  it.  But  the  more  economical  way  is  to  put 
it  in  a  pan,  dredge  it  with  flour,  pin  some  fat  pork  over 
it,  and  set  it  in  a  hot  oven  ;  when  very  brown  take  it  out ; 


Chapter  for  People  of  Very  Small  Means.     99 

make  nice  brown  gravy  by  pouring  water  in  tbe  pan  and 
letting  it  boil  on  the  stove,  stirring  it  well  to  dissolve  the 
glaze  ;  pour  into  the  dish,  and  serve.  The  heart  should 
be  stuffed  with  bread-crumbs,  parsley,  thyme,  and  a  lit- 
tle onion,  and  baked  separately.  Oi-,  for  a  change,  you 
may  chop  the  liver  up  with  a  few  sweet  herbs  and  a  lit- 
tle pork  (onion,  or  not,  as  you  like),  and  some  bread- 
crumbs. Put  all  together  in  a  crock,  dredge  with  flour, 
cover,  and  set  in  a  slow  oven  for  an  hour  and  a  half ; 
then  serve,  with  toasted  bread  around  the  dish. 

It  is  very  poor  economy  to  buy  inferior  meat.  One 
pound  of  fine  beef  has  more  nounshment  than  two  of 
poor  quality.  But  there  is  a  great  difference  in  prices  of 
different  parts  of  meat,  and  it  is  better  management  to 
choose  the  cheap  part  of  fine  beef  than  to  buy  the  sir- 
loin of  a  poor  ox  even  at  the  same  price ;  and,  by  good 
cooking  many  parts  not  usually  chosen,  and  therefore 
sold  cheaply,  can  be  made  very  good.  Yet  you  must 
remember,  that  a  piece  of  meat  at  seven  cents  a  pound, 
in  wliich  there  is  at  least  half  fat  and  bone,  such  as 
brisket,  etc.,  is  less  economical  than  solid  meat  at  ten  or 
twelve. 

Pot  roasts  are  very  good  for  parts  of  meat  not  tender 
enough  for  roasting,  the  "cross-rib,"  as  some  butch- 
ers term  it,  being  very  good  for  this  purpose ;  it  is  all 
solid  meat,  and  being  very  lean,  requires  a  little  fat  pork, 
which  may  be  laid  at  the  bot*om  of  the  pot;  or  better 
still,  holes  made  in  the  meat  and  pieces  of  the  fat  drawn 
through,  larding  in  a  rough  way,  so  that  they  cut  to- 
gether. A  pot  roast  is  best  put  on  in  an  iron  pot,  with- 
out water,  allowed  to  get  finely  brown  on  one  side,  then 
turned,  and  when  thoroughly  brown  on  the  other  a  little 
water  may  be  added  for  gravy ;    chop  parsley  or  any 


100  Culture  and  Cooking, 

seasoning  that  is  preferred.  Give  your  roast  at  least 
three  hours  to  cook.  Ox  cheek,  as  the  head  is  called,  is 
very  good,  and  should  be  very  cheap  ;  prepare  it  thus  : 

Clean  the  cheek,  soak  it  in  water  six  hours,  and  cut 
the  meat  from  the  bones,  which  break  up  for  soup; 
then  take  the  meat,  cut  into  neat  pieces,  put  it  in  an 
earthen  crock,  a  layer  of  beef,  some  thin  pieces  of  pork 
or  bacon,  some  onions,  carrots,  and  turnips,  cut  thin,  or 
chopped  fine,  and  sprinkled  over  the  meat ;  also,  some 
chopped  parsley,  a  little  thyme,  and  bay  leaf,  pepper 
and  salt,  and  a  clove  to  each  layer  ;  then  more  beef  and 
a  little  pork,  vegetables,  and  seasoning,  as  before.  When 
all  your  meat  is  in  pour  over  it,  if  you  have  it,  a  tum- 
bler of  hard  cider  and  one  of  water,  or  else  two  of  water, 
in  which  put  a  half  gill  of  vinegar.  If  you  have  no 
tight-fitting  cover  to  your  crock,  put  a  paste  of  flour  and 
water  over  it  to  keep  the  steam  in.  Place  the  crock  in  a 
slow  oven  five  or  six  hours,  and  when  it  is  taken  out  re- 
move the  crust  and  skim.  Any  piece  of  beef  cooked  in 
this  way  is  excellent. 

Ox  heart  is  one  of  the  cheapest  of  dishes,  and  really 
remarkably  nice,  and  it  is  much  used  by  economical  peo- 
ple abroad. 

The  heart  should  be  soaked  in  vinegar  and  water  three 
or  four  hours,  then  cut  off  the  lobes  and  gristle,  and 
stuff  it  with  fat  pork  chopped,  bread-crumbs,  parsley, 
thyme,  pepper,  and  salt ;  then  tie  it  in  a  cloth  and  very 
slowly  simmer  it  (large  end  up)  for  two  hours ;  take  it 
up,  remove  the  cloth,  and  flour  it,  and  roast  it  a  nice 
brown.  Lay  in  the  pan  in  which  it  is  to  be  roasted  some 
fat  pork  to  baste  it.  Any  of  this  left  over  is  excellent 
hashed,  or,  warmed  in  slices  with  a  rich  brown  gravy,  can- 
not be  told  from  game.     Another  way  is  to  stuff  it  with 


Chapter  for  People  of  Very  Small  Means,    lOi 

sage  and  onions.  It  must  always  be  served  very  hot  with 
hot  plates  and  on  a  very  hot  dish. 

Fore  quarter  of  mutton  is  another  yery  economical  part 
of  meat,  if  you  get  your  butcher  to  cut  it  so  that  it  may 
not  only  be  economical,  but  really  afford  a  choice  joint. 
Do  not  then  let  him  hack  the  shoulder  across,  but,  before 
he  does  a  thing  to  it,  get  him  to  take  the  shoulder  out  in 
a  round  plate-shaped  joint,  with  knuckle  attached ;  if 
he  does  this  well,  that  is,  cuts  it  close  to  the  bone  of  the 
ribs,  you  will  have  a  nice  joint ;  then  do  not  have  it 
chopped  at  all ;  this  should  be  roasted  in  the  oven  very 
nicely,  and  served  with  onion  sauce  or  stewed  onions.  If 
onions  are  not  liked,  mashed  turnips  are  the  appro- 
priate vegetable.  This  joint,  to  be  enjoyed,  must  be 
properly  carved,  and  that  is,  across  the  middle  from  the 
edge  to  the  bone,  the  same  as  a  leg  of  mutton ;  and  like 
the  leg,  you  must  learn,  as  I  cannot  describe  it  in  words, 
where  the  bone  lies,  then  have  that  side  nearest  you  and 
cut  from  the  opposite  side. 

You  have,  besides  this  joint,  another  roast  from  the 
ribs,  or  else  cut  it  up  into  chops  till  you  come  to  the 
part  under  the  shoulder ;  from  this  the  breast  should  be 
separated  and  both  either  made  into  a  good  Irish  stew, 
or  the  breast  prepared  alone  in  a  way  I  shall  describe, 
the  neck  and  thin  ribs  being  stewed  or  boiled. 

The  neck  of  mutton  is  very  tender  boiled  and  served 
with  parsley  or  caper  sauce ;  the  liquor  it  is  boiled  in 
served  as  broth,  with  vegetables  and  rice,  or  prepared  as 
directed  in  a  former  chapter  for  the  broth  from  leg  of 
mutton. 

The  mode  I  am  about  to  give  of  preparing  breast  of 
mutton  was  told  me  by  a  Welsh  lady  of  rank,  at  whose 
table  I  ate  it  (it  appeared  as  a  side  dish),  and  who  said. 


102  Culture  and  Cooking, 

half  laughingly,  ''  Will  you  take  some  '  fluff '  ?  We  are 
very  fond  of  it,  but  breast  of  mutton  is  such  a  despised 
dish  I  never  expect  any  one  else  to  like  it.*'  I  took  it, 
on  my  principle  of  trying  everything,  and  did  find  it 
very  good.  This  lady  told  me  that,  having  of  course  a 
good  deal  of  mutton  killed  on  her  father's  estate,  and  the 
breast  being  always  despised  by  the  servants,  she  had  in- 
vented a  way  of  using  it  to  avoid  waste.    Her  way  was  this: 

Set  the  breast  of  mutton  on  the  fire  whole,  just  cov- 
ered with  water  in  which  is  a  little  salt.  When  it  comes 
to  the  boil  draw  it  back  and  let  it  simmer  three  hours ; 
then  take  it  up  and  draw  out  the  bones,  and  lay  a  force- 
meat of  bread-crumbs,  parsley,  thyme,  chopped  suet, 
salt  and  pepper  all  over  it ;  double  or  roll  it,  skewer  it, 
and  coat  it  thickly  with  Q^;g  and  bread-crumbs ;  then 
bake  in  a  moderate  oven,  basting  it  often  with  nice  drip- 
ping or  butter ;  when  nicely  brown  it  is  done,  and  eats 
like  the  tenderest  lamb.  It  was,  when  I  saw  it,  served  on 
a  bed  of  spinach.  I  like  it  better  on  a  bed  of  stewed 
onions. 

I  now  give  some  dishes  made  without  meat. 

Ragout  of  Cucumber  and  Okioks. — Fry  equal 
quantities  of  large  cucumbers  and  onions  in  slices  until 
they  are  a  nice  brown.  The  cucumber  will  brown  more 
easily  if  cut  up  and  put  to  drain  some  time  before  using ; 
then  flour  each  slice.  When  both  are  brown,  pour  on 
them  a  cup  of  water,  and  let  them  stew  for  half  an  hour ; 
then  take  a  good  piece  of  butter  in  which  you  have 
worked  a  dessert-spoonful  of  flour  (browned) ;  add  pep- 
per, salt,  and  a  little  tomato  catsup  or  stewed  tomato. 
This  is  a  rich-eating  dish  if  nicely  made,  and  will  help 
out  cold  meat  or  a  scant  quantity  of  it  very  well.  A 
little  cold  meat  may  be  added  if  you  have  it. 


Chapter  for  People  of  Very  Small  Means,    103 

Onion  Soup. — Fry  six  large  onions  cut  into  slices 
with  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  butter  till  they  are  of  a 
bright  brown,  then  well  mix  in  a  tablespoonful  of  flour, 
and  pour  on  them  rather  more  than  a  quart  of  water. 
Stew  gently  until  the  onions  are  quite  tender,  season 
with  a  spoonful  of  salt  and  a  little  sugar  ;  stir  in  quickly 
a  liaison  made  with  the  yolks  of  two  eggs  mixed  with 
a  gill  of  milk  or  cream  (do  not  let  it  boil  afterwards), 
put  some  toast  in  a  tureen,  and  serve  very  hot. 

Pea  Soup. — Steep  some  yellow  split  peas  all  night,  next 
morning  set  them  on  to  boil  with  two  quarts  of  water  to  a 
pint  of  peas  ;  in  the  water  put  a  tiny  bit  of  soda.  In  an- 
other pot  put  a  large  carrot,  a  turnip,  an  onion,  and  a 
large  head  of  celery,  all  cut  small  and  covered  with  water. 
When  both  peas  and  vegetables  are  tender,  put  them 
together,  season  with  salt,  pepper,  and  a  little  sugar, 
and  let  them  gently  stew  till  thick  enough  ;  then  strain 
through  a  colander,  rubbing  the  vegetables  well,  and 
return  to  the  pot  while  you  fry  some  sippets  of  bread  a 
crisp  brown  ;  then  stir  into  the  soup  two  ounces  of  but- 
ter in  which  you  have  rolled  a  little  flour. 

This  soup  is  simply  delicious,  and  the  fact  of  it  being 
maigre  will  not  be  remembered. 

Potato  Soup  is  another  of  this  good  kind,  for  meat  is 
scarcely  required,  so  good  is  it  without. 

Boil  some  potatoes,  then  rub  them  through  a  colandar 
into  two  quarts  of  hot  milk  (skimmed  does  quite  well); 
have  some  fine-chopped  parsley  and  onion,  add  both 
with  salt  and  pepper,  stew  three  quarters  of  an  hour ; 
then  stir  in  a  large  piece  of  butter,  and  beat  two  eggs 
with  a  little  cold  milk,  stir  in  quickly,  and  serve  with 
fried  bread.  There  should  be  potatoes  enough  to  make 
the  soup  as  thick  as  cream. 


104  Culture  and  Cooking, 

Do  not  be  prejudiced  against  a  dish  because  there  is 
no  meat  in  it,  and  you  think  it  cannot  be  nourishing. 
This  chapter  is  not  written  for  those  with  whom  meat, 
or  money,  is  plentiful  ;  and  if  it  be  true  that  man  is 
nourished  "  not  by  what  he  eats,  but  by  what  he  assim- 
ilates," and,  according  to  an  American  medical  author- 
ity, "what  is  eaten  with  distaste  is  not  assimilated" 
(Dr.  Hall),  it  follows  that  an  enjoyable  dinner,  even 
without  meat,  will  be  more  nourishing  than  one  forced 
down  because  it  lacks  savor  ;  that  potato  soup  will  be 
more  nourishing  than  potatoes  and  butter,  with  a  cup  of 
milk  to  drink,  because  more  enjoyable.  Yet  it  costs  no 
more,  for  the  soup  can  be  made  without  the  eggs  if  they 
are  scarce. 

Or  say  bread  and  butter  and  onions.  They  will  not 
be  very  appetizing,  especially  if  they  had  to  be  a  fre- 
quent meal,  yet  onion  soup  is  made  from  the  same  ma- 
terials, and  in  France  is  a  very  favorite  dish,  even  with 
those  well  able  to  put  meat  in  it  if  they  wished. 


CHAPTER  XV, 

A  FEW  THINGS  IT  IS  WELL  TO  KEMEMBER. 

Eyery  housekeeper  has  pet  **  wrinkles  "  of  her  own 
which  she  thinks  are  especially  valuable  ;  some  are 
known  to  all  the  world,  others  are  new  to  many.  So 
it  may  be  with  mine  ;  but,  on  the  chance  that  some  few 
things  are  as  new  to  my  friends  as  they  were  to  me,  I 
jot  them  down  without  any  pretense  of  order  or  regu- 
larity. 

Lemons  will  keep  fresher  and  better  in  water  than  any 
other  way.  Put  them  in  a  crock,  cover  them  with  water. 
They  will  in  winter  keep  two  or  three  months,  and  the 
peel  be  as  fresh  as  the  day  they  were  put  in.  Take  care, 
of  course,  that  they  do  not  get  frosted.  In  summer 
change  the  water  twice  a  week ;  they  will  keep  a  long 
time. 

In  grating  nutmegs  begin  at  the  flower  end  ;  if  you 
commence  at  the  other,  there  will  be  a  hole  all  the  way 
through. 

Tea  or  coffee  made  hot  (not  at  all  scorched),  before 
water  is  added,  are  more  fragrant  and  stronger.  Thus, 
by  putting  three  spoonfuls  of  tea  in  the  pot  and  setting 
in  a  warm  place  before  infusing,  it  will  be  as  strong  as 
if  you  make  tea  with  four  spoonfuls  without  warming  it, 
and  much  more  fragrant. 

Vegetables  that  are  strong  can  be  made  much  milder 
5*  105 


io6  Culture  and  Cooking, 

by  tying  a  bit  of  bread  in  a  clean  rag  and  boiling  it  with 
them. 

Bread  dough  is  just  as  good  made  the  day  before  it  is 
used ;  thus,  a  small  family  can  have  fresh  bread  one  day, 
rolls  the  next,  by  putting  the  dough  in  a  cold  place  en- 
veloped in  a  damp  cloth.  In  winter,  kept  cold,  yet  not 
in  danger  of  freezing,  it  will  keep  a  week. 

Celery  seed  takes  the  place  of  celery  for  soup  or  stews 
when  it  is  scarce  ;  parsley  seed  of  parsley. 

Green  beans,  gherkins,  etc.,  put  down  when  plentiful 
in  layers  of  rock  salt,  will  keep  crisp  and  green  for 
months,  and  can  be  taken  out  and  pickled  when  con- 
venient. 

Lemon  or  orange  peel  grated  and  mixed  with  powdered 
sugar  and  a  squeeze  of  its  own  Juice  (the  sugar  making 
it  into  paste)  is  excellent  to  keep  for  flavoring ;  put  it 
into  a  little  pot  and  it  will  keep  for  a  year. 

Bread  that  is  very  stale  may  be  made  quite  fresh  for 
an  hour  or  two  by  dipping  it  quickly  into  milk  or  water, 
and  putting  it  in  a  brisk  oven  till  quite  liot  through.  It 
must  be  eaten  at  once,  or  it  will  be  as  stale  as  ever  when 
cold. 

Meat  to  be  kept  in  warm  weather  should  be  rubbed  over 
with  salad  oil,  every  crevice  filled  with  ginger  ;  meat  that 
is  for  roasting  or  frying  is  much  better  preserved  in  this 
way  than  with  salt ;  take  care  that  every  part  of  the  sur- 
face has  a  coat  of  oil.  Steaks  or  chops  cut  off,  which 
always  keep  badly,  should  be  dipped  into  warm  butter  or 
even  dripping,  if  oil  is  not  handy  (the  object  being  to 
exclude  the  air),  and  then  hung  up  till  wanted. 

Mutton  in  cold  weather  should  be  hung  four  or  five 
weeks  in  a  place  not  subject  to  changes  of  temperature, 
and  before  it  is  so  hung,  every  crevice  filled  with  ginger 


A  Few  Things  it  is  Well  to  Remember,      107 

and  thoroughly  dredged  with  flour,  which  must  be  then 
rubbed  in  with  the  hand  till  the  surface  is  quite  dry. 
This  is  the  English  fashion  of  keeping  yenison. 

It  may  be  useful  for  those  who  burn  kerosene  to  know 
that  when  their  lamps  smell,  give  a  bad  light,  and  smoke, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  buy  new  burners.  Put  the  old 
ones  in  an  old  saucepan  with  water  and  a  tablespoonful 
of  soda,  let  them  boil  half  an  hour,  wipe  them,  and 
your  trouble  will  be  over. 

Meat  that  has  become  slightly  tainted  may  be  quite 
restored  by  washing  it  in  water  in  which  is  a  teaspoonful 
of  borax,  cutting  away  every  part  in  the  least  discolored. 

In  summer  when  meat  comes  from  the  butcher's,  if  it 
is  not  going  to  be  used  the  same  day,  it  should  be  washed 
over  with  vinegar. 

•  Poultry  in  summer  should  always  have  a  piece  of 
charcoal  tied  in  a  rag  placed  in  the  stomach,  to  be  re- 
moved before  cooking.  Pieces  of  charcoal  should  also 
be  put  in  the  refrigerator  and  changed  often. 

Oyster  shells  put  one  at  a  time  in  a  stove  that  is 
''clinkered"  will  clean  the  bricks  entirely.  They 
should  be  put  in  when  the  fire  is  burning  brightly. 

Salt  and  soapstone  powder  (to  be  bought  at  the  drug- 
gist's) mend  fire  brick  ;  use  equal  quantities,  make  into  a 
paste  with  water,  and  cement  the  brick  ;  they  will  be  as 
strong  as  new  ones. 

Ink  spilled  on  carpets  may  be  entirely  removed  by 
rubbing  while  wet  with  blotting  paper,  using  fresh  as 
it  soils. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

OK    SOME    TABLE    PEEJUDICES. 

Mai?"y  people  have  strong  prejudices  against  certain 
things  which  they  have^never  even  tasted,  or  which  they 
do  frequently  take  and  like  as  a  part  of  something  else, 
without  knowing  it.  How  common  it  is  to  hear  and 
see  untrayeled  people  declare  that  they  dislike  garlic, 
and  could  not  touch  anything  with  it  in.  Yet  those 
very  people  will  take  Worcestershire  sauce,  in  which  gar- 
lic is  actually  predominant,  with  everything  they  eat ; 
and  think  none  but  English  pickles  eatable,  which 
owe  much  of  their  excellence  to  the  introduction  of  a 
soup<;on  of  garlic.  Therefore  I  beg  'those  who  actually 
only  know  garlic  from  hearsay  abuse  of  it,  or  from  its 
presence  on  the  breath  of  some  inveterate  garlic  eater, 
to  give  it  a  fair  trial  when  it  appears  in  a  recipe.  It  is 
just  one  of  those  things  that  require  the  most  delicate 
handling,  for  which  the  French  term  a  "  sus2ncio7i "  is 
most  appreciated  ;  it  should  only  be  a  suspicion,  its 
presence  should  never  be  pronounced.  As  Blot  once 
begged  his  readers,  "  Give  garlic  a  fair  trial  in  a  remo- 
lade  sauce."  (Montpellier  butter  beaten  into  mayonnaise 
is  a  good  remolade  for  cold  meat  or  fish.) 

Curry  is  one  of  those  things  against  which  many  are 
strongly  prejudiced,  and  I  am.  inclined  to  think  it  is 

108 


On  Some  Table  Prejudices,  109 

quite  an  acquired  taste,  but  a  taste  which  is  an  envi- 
able one  to  its  possessors ;  for  them  there  is  endless 
variety  in  all  they  eat.  The  capabilities  of  curry  are 
very  little  known  in  this  country,  and,  as  the  taste  for 
it  is  so  limited,  I  will  not  do  more  in  its  defense  than 
indicate  a  pleasant  use  to  which  it  may  be  put,  and  in 
which  form  it  would  be  a  welcome  condiment  to  many 
to  whom  **a  curry,"  pure  and  simple,  would  be  obnox- 
ious. I  once  knew  an  Anglo-Indian  who  used  curry  as 
most  people  use  cayenne  ;  it  was  put  in  a  pepper-box, 
and  with  it  he  would  at  times  pepper  his  fish  or  kidneys, 
even  his  eggs.  Used  in  this  way,  it  imparts  a  delightful 
piquancy  to  food,  and  is  neither  hot  nor  "  spicy." 

Few  people  are  so  prejudiced  as  the  English  generally, 
and  the  stay-at-home  Americans  ;  but  the  latter  are  to 
be  taught  by  travel,  the  Englishman  rarely. 

The  average  Briton  leaves  his  island  shores  with  the 
conviction  that  he  will  get  nothing  fit  to  eat  till  he  gets 
back,  and  that  he  will  have  to  be  uncommonly  careful 
once  across  the  channel,  or  he  will  be  having  fricasseed 
frogs  palmed  on  him  for  chicken.  Poor  man!  in  his 
horror  of  frogs,  he  does  not  know  that  the  Paris  res- 
taurateur who  should  give  the  costly  frog  for  chicken, 
would  soon  end  in  the  bankruptcy  court. 

"  If  I  could  only  get  a  decent  dinner,  a  good  roast 
and  plain  potato,  I  would  like  Paris  much  better,"  said 
an  old  Englishman  to  me  once  in  that  gay  city. 

**But  surely  you  can." 

"No  ;  I  have  been  to  restaurants  of  every  class,  and 
called  for  beefsteak  and  roast  beef,  but  have  never  got 
the  real  article,  although  it's  my  belief,"  said  he,  lean- 
ing forward  solemnly,  "that  I  have  eaten  liorse  three 
times  this  week."    Of  course  the  Englishman  of  rank. 


no  Culture  and  Cooking, 

who  has  spent  half  his  life  on  the  continent,  is  not  at  all 
the  average  Englishman. 

Americans  think  the  hare  and  rabbits,  of  which  the 
English  make  such  good  use,  very  mean  food  indeed, 
and  if  they  are  unprejudiced  enough  to  try  them,  from 
the  fact  that  they  are  never  well  cooked,  they  dislike 
them,  which  prejudice  the  English  reciprocate  by  look- 
ing on  squirrels  as  being  as  little  fit  for  food  as  a  rat. 
And  a  familiar  instance  of  prejudice  from  ignorance 
carried  even  to  insanity,  is  that  of  the  Irish  in  1848, 
starving  rather  than  eat  the  "yaller  male,"  sent  them 
by  generous  American  sympathizers  ;  yet  they  come  here 
and  soon  get  over  that  dislike.  Not  so  the  French,  who 
look  on  oatmeal  and  Indian  meal  as  most  unwholesome 
food.  '^  (7«  pese  sur  Vestomac,  p«  creuse  Vestomac,"  I 
heard  an  old  Frenchwoman  say,  trying  to  dissuade  a 
mother  from  giving  her  children  mush. 

The  moral  of  all  of  which  is,  that  for  our  comfort's 
sake,  and  the  general  good  we  should  avoid  unreason- 
able prejudices  against  unfamiliar  food.  We  of  course 
have  a  right  to  our  honest  dislikes ;  but  to  condemn 
things  because  we  have  heard  them  despised,  is  pre- 
judice. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

A  CHAPTER  OF   ODDS   AN^D   EKDS — VALEDICTORY.^ 

I  HAVE  alluded,  in  an  earlier  chapter,  to  the  fact  that 
many  inexperienced  cooks  are  afraid  of  altering  recipes  ; 
a  few  words  on  this  subject  may  not  be  out  of  place.  As 
a  rule,  a  recipe  should  be  faithfully  followed  in  all  im- 
portant points ;  for  instance,  in  making  soup  you  can- 
not, because  you  are  short  of  the  given  quantity  of  meat, 
put  the  same  amount  of  water  as  directed  for  the  full 
quantity,  without  damaging  your  soup  ;  but  you  may  eas- 
ily reduce  water  and  every  other  ingredient  in  the  same 
proportion ;  and,  in  mere  matters  of  flavoring,  you  may 
vary  to  suit  circumstances.  If  you  are  told  to  use  cloves, 
and  have  none,  a  bit  of  mace  may  be  substituted. 

If  you  read  a  recipe,  and  it  calls  for  something  you 
have  not,  consider  whether  that  something  has  anything 
to  do  with  the  substance  of  the  dish,  or  whether  it  is 
merely  an  accessory  for  which  something  else  can  be 
substituted.  For  instance,  if  you  are  ordered  to  use 
cream  in  a  sauce,  milk  with  a  larger  amount  of  well- 
washed  butter  may  take  its  place  ;  but  if  you  are  told  to 
use  cream  for  charlotte  russe  or  trifles,  there  is  no  way  in 
which  you  could  make  milk  serve,  since  it  is  not  an 
accessory  but  the  chief  part  of  those  dishes.  For  a 
cake  in  which  cream  is  used,  butter  whipped  to  a  cream 
may  take  its  place.  "Wine  is  usually  optional  in  savory 
dishes ;  it  gives  richness  only. 

Ill 


112  Culture  and  Cooking. 

Again,  in  cakes  be  very  careful  the  exact  proportions 
of  flour,  eggs,  and  milk  are  observed  ;  of  butter  you  can 
generally  use  more  or  less,  haying  a  more  or  less  rich 
cake  in  proportion.  In  any  but  plain  cup  cakes  (which 
greatly  depend  on  soda  and  acid  for  their  lightness) 
never  lessen  the  allowance  of  eggs  ;  never  add  milk  if  a 
cake  is  too  stiff  (but  an  extra  Qgg  may  always  be  used), 
unless  milk  is  ordered  in  the  recipe,  when  more  or  less 
may  be  used  as  needed.     Flavoring  may  be  always  varied. 

In  reducing  a  recipe  always  reduce  every  ingredient, 
and  it  can  make  no  difference  in  the  results.  Some- 
times, in  cookery  books,  you  are  told  to  use  articles  not 
frequently  found  in  ordinary  kitchens ;  for  instance,  a 
larding-needle  (although  that  can  be  bought  for  twenty- 
five  cents  at  any  house-furnishing  store,  and  should  al- 
ways be  in  a  kitchen) ;  but,  in  case  you  have  not  one  for 
meat,  you  may  manage  by  making  small  cuts  and  insert- 
ing slips  of  bacon. 

Another  article  that  is  very  useful,  but  seldom,  if  ever, 
to  be  found  in  small  kitchens,  is  a  salamander  ;  but  when 
you  wish  to  brown  the  top  of  a  dish,  and  putting  it  in 
the  oven  would  not  do,  or  the  oven  is  not  quick  enough 
to  serve,  an  iron  shovel,  made  nearly  red,  and  a  few  red 
cinders  in  it,  is  a  very  good  salamander.  It  must  be 
held  over  the  ai:;ticle  that  requires  browning  near  enough 
to  color  it,  yet  not  to  burn. 

In  the  recipes  I  have  given  nothing  is  required  that 
cannot  be  obtained,  with  more  or  less  ease,  in  New  York. 
For  syrups,  fruit  Juices,  etc.,  apply  to  your  druggist ;  if 
he  has  not  them  he  will  tell  you  where  to  obtain  them. 
We  often  make  up  our  minds  that  because  a  thing  is  not 
commonly  used  in  this  country,  it  is  impossible  to  get  it. 
Really  there  are  very  few  things  not  to  be  got  in  New 


Chapter  of  Odds  and  Ends— Valedictory,     113 

York  City  to  the  intelligent  seeker.  You  need  an  arti- 
cle of  French  or  Italian  or  may  be  English  grocery,  that 
your  grocer,  a  first-class  one,  perhaps,  has  not,  and  you 
make  up  your  mind  you  cannot  get  it.  But  go  into  the 
quarters  where  French  people  live,  and  you  can  get 
eyerything  belonging  to  the  French  cuisine.  So  preju- 
diced are  the  French  in  favor  of  the  productions  of  la 
Mle  France,  that  they  do  not  believe  in  our  parsley  or 
our  chives  or  garlic  or  shallots  ;  for  I  know  at  least  one 
French  grocer  who  imports  them  for  his  customers.  On 
being  asked  why  he  brought  them  from  France  to  a 
country  where  those  very  things  were  plentiful,  he  an- 
swered : 

"Oh,  French  herbs  are  much  finer." 

Needless  to  say  tarragon  is  one  of  the  herbs  so  import- 
ed, and  can  thus  be  bought ;  but,  as  several  New  Jersey 
truck  gardeners  grow  all  kinds  of  French  herbs,  they  can 
be  got  in  Washington  Market,  and  most  druggists  keep 
them  dried ;  but  for  salads,  Montpellier  butter,  and  some 
other  uses,  the  dried  herb  would  not  do,  although  for 
flavoring  it  would  serve ;  but  the  far  better  way  is  to 
grow  them  for  yourself,  as  I  have  done.  Any  large 
seedsman  will  supply  you  with  burnet,  tarragon,  and 
borage  (very  useful  for  salads,  punch,  etc.)  seeds,  and  if 
you  live  in  the  country,  have  an  herb  bed  ;  if  in  town, 
there  are  few  houses  where  there  is  not  ground  enough 
to  serve  for  the  purpose ;  but  even  in  these  few  houses 
one  can  have  a  box  of  earth  in  the  kitchen  window,  in 
which  your  seeds  will  flourish. 

Parsley  is  a  thing  in  almost  daily  request  in  winter, 

yet  it  is  very  expensive  to  buy  it  constantly  for  the  sake 

of  using  the  small  spray  that  often  suffices.     It  is  a  good 

plan,  therefore,  in  fall,  to  get  a  few  roots,  plant  them  in 

8 


114  Culture  and  Cooking, 

a  pot  or  box,  and  they  will  flourish  all  winter,  if  kept 
where  they  will  not  freeze,  and  be  ready  for  garnishing 
at  any  minute. 

Always,  as  far  as  your  means  allow,  have  every  con- 
venience for  cooking.  By  having  utensils  proper  for 
every  purpose  you  save  a  great  deal  of  work  and  much 
vexation  of  spirit.  Yet  it  should  be  no  excuse  for  bad 
work  that  such  utensils  are  not  at  hand.  A  willing  and 
intelligent  cook  will  make  the  best  of  what  she  has. 
Apropos  of  this  very  thing  Gouffe  relates  that  a  friend 
of  his,  an  "artist"  of  renown,  was  sent  for  to  the 
chateau  of  a  Baron  Argenteuil,  who  had  taken  a  large 
company  with  him,  unexpectedly  crowding  the  chateau 
in  every  part.  He, was  shown  into  a  dark  passage  in 
which  a  plank  was  suspended  from  the  ceiling,  and  told 
this  was  to  be  his  kitchen.  He  had  to  fashion  his  own 
utensils,  for  there  was  nothing  provided,  and  his  pastry 
he  had  to  bake  in  a  frying-pan — besides  building  two 
monumental  plats  on  that  board — and  prepare  a  cold  en- 
tree. But  he  cheerfully  set  to  work  to  overcome  diffi- 
culties, achieved  his  task,  and  was  rewarded  by  the  plau- 
dits of  the  diners.  Such  difficulties  as  these  our  servants 
nevei'  have  to  encounter,  and  a  cheerful  endeavor  to 
make  the  best  of  everything  should  be  the  rule.  Yet, 
let  us  spare  them  all  the  labor  we  can,  or  rather  make  it 
as  easy  and  pleasant  as  possible ;  they  will  be  more 
proud  of  their  well-furnished  kitchen,  more  cheerful  in 
it,  than  they  will  of  one  where  everything  for  their  con- 
venience is  grudged,  and  such  pride  and  cheerfulness 
will  be  your  gain. 

There  is  always  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  servants  in 
America,  how  bad  and  inefficient  they  are,  how  badly 
they  contrast  with  those  of  England.    Certainly,  they 


Chapter  of  Odds  and^  Ends— Valedictory.     115 

are  not  so  efficient  as  those  of  the  older  country ;  how 
could  they  be  ?  There,  girls  who  are  intended  for  servants 
have  ever  held  before  their  eyes  what  they  may  or  may 
not  do  in  the  future  calling,  and  how  it  is  to  be  done. 
But  take  one  of  these  orderly,  efficient  girls,  put  her  in 
an  American  family  as  general  servant  or  as  cook,  where 
two  are  kept,  washing  and  ironing  to  do,  and  a  variety 
of  other  work,  and  see  how  your  English  servant  would 
stare  at  your  requirements.  She  has  been  accustomed  to 
her  own  line  of  work  at  home ;  if  housemaid,  she  has 
been  dressed  for  the  day  at  noon  ;  if  cook,  she  has  never 
done  even  her  own  washing. 

She  may,  and  will  no  doubt,  fall  into  the  way  of  the 
country,  after  a  while,  and  on  account  of  her  early  habits 
of  respect,  will  make  a  good  servant  perhaps.  But  many 
of  them  would  be  quite  indignant  at  being  asked  to  do 
the  average  servant's  work  here.  I  am  speaking  now  of 
the  trained  servants ;  but,  comparing  the  London  *'  maid- 
of-all-work"  or  '' slavey  "  with  our  own  general  servants, 
and  considering  how  much  more  is  expected  of  the  latter, 
the  comparison  seems  to  me  vastly  in  the  favor  of  our  own 
Bridgets.  We  may  rest  assured,  however  smoothly  the 
wheels  of  household  management  glide  along  in  wealthy 
families  across  the  water,  people  who  can  only  keep  one 
or  two  have  all  our  troubles  with  servants  and  a  few 
added,  and  their  faults  are  just  as  general  a  subject  of 
conversation  among  ladies. 

France  (out  of  Paris,  from  Parisian  servants  deliver 
me  ! )  and  Germany  seem  the  favored  lands  where  one 
servant  does  the  work  of  three  or  four.  Yet  even  they, 
are,  they  say,  degenerating.  Let  us,  then,  be  contented 
and  make  the  best  of  what  we  have,  assured  that  even 
Biddy  is  not  so  hopeless  as  she  is  painted.     Kindness 


Ii6  Culture  and  Cooking. 

(not  weakness),  firmness,  and  patience  work  wonders, 
even  with  the  roughest  Emerald  that  ever  crossed  the 
sea. 

I  have  said  somewhere  else  that  you  must  beware  of  at- 
tempting too  much  at  once  ;  perfect  yourself  in  one  thing 
before  you  attempt  another.  Take  breaded  chops  or 
fried  oysters,  make  opportunities  for  having  them  rather 
often,  and  do  not  rest  satisfied  until  you  have  them  as 
well  fried  as  you  have  ever  seen  them  anywhere  ;  "  prac- 
tice makes  perfect,"  and  you  certainly  will  achieve  per- 
fection if  you  are  not  discouraged  by  one  failure.  But 
above  all  things  never  make  experiments  for  company  ; 
let  them  be  made  when  it  really  matters  little  whether 
you  succeed  or  not,  and  let  your  experiments  be  on  a 
small  scale  ;  don't  attempt  to  fry  a  large  dish  of  oysters 
or  chops  until  it  is  a  very  easy  task,  or  make  more  than 
half  a  pound  of  puff  paste  at  first ;  for  if  you  fail  with  a 
large  task  before  you,  you  will  be  tired  and  disheartened, 
hate  the  sight  of  what  you  are  doing,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, not  be  likely  to  return  to  it  very  soon.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  cooks  ;  some  of  them  are  very  fond  of  ex- 
periments, which  taste  I  should  always  encourage  ;  but  do 
not  let  them  jump  from  one  experiment  to  the  other ; 
if  they  try  a  dish  and  fail,  they  often  make  up  their 
minds  that  the  fault  is  not  theirs,  that  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  "  bother  "  with  it.  Here  your  knowledge  will  be 
of  service  ;  you  will  show  them  that  it  can  be  done,  how 
it  should  be  done,  and  order  the  dish  cook  failed  in,  fre- 
quently, giving  it  sufficient  surveillance  to  prevent  your 
family  suffering  from  her  inexperience  ;  for,  as  a  witty 
Frenchman  said  of  Mme.  du  Deffaud's  cook,  *' Between 
her  and  Brinvilliers  there  is  only  the  difference  of  in- 
tention." 


Oiapter  of  Odds  and  Ends — Valedictory,     \\*J 

Few  things  add  more  to  a  man  or  woman's  social  repu- 
tation than  the  fact  that  they  keep  a  good  table.  It 
need  not  be  one  where 

*•  The  strong  table  groans 
Beneath  the  smoking  sirloin  stretched  immense ; " 

but  a  table  where  whatever  you  do  have  will  be  good, 
be  it  pork  and  beans,  or  salmi  ;  the  pork  and  beans 
would  satisfy  a  Bostonian,  the  salmi  Grimod  de  la  Rey- 
niere  himself.     I  do  not  admit  with  Di  Walcott  that 

**  The  turnpike  road  to  people's  hearts  I  find 
Lies  through  their  mouths,  or  I  mistake  mankind." 

But  it  is  a  fact  that  good  living — by  this  I  do  not 
mean  extravagant  living — presupposes  good  breeding. 
Well-bred  people  sometimes  live  badly  ;  but  ill-bred 
people  seldom  or  ever  live  well,  in  the  right  sense  of 
the  term. 

Now,  by  way  of  valedictory,  let  me  repeat  that  I  do 
not  think  a  lady's  best  or  proper  place  is  the  kitchen  ; 
but  it  is  quite  possible  to  have  a  perfectly  served  table, 
yet  spend  very  little  time  there.  Only  that  one  little 
hour  a  day  that  Talleyrand,  the  busy  man  full  of  intrigue 
and  statecraft,  found  time  to  spend  with  his  cook,  would 
insure  your  table  being  well  served.  For,  after  devoting 
say  a  few  winter  months  to  perfecting  yourself  in  a  few 
things,  you  will  be  able  to  teach  your  cook,  who  is  often 
ambitious  to  excel  if  put  in  the  right  way.  A  word  here 
about  cooks. 

The  knowledge  that  if  they  fail  to  do  a  thing  well 
you  will  do  it  yourself,  will  often  put  them  on  their 
mettle  to  do  their  best ;  while  the  feeling  that  you  don't 
know,  will  make  them  careless. 


Ii8  Culture  and  Cooking. 

Servants  have  a  great  deal  more  amour  propre  than 
people  imagine  ;  therefore,  stimulate  it  by  judicious 
praise  and  appreciation  ;  let  them  think  that  to  send  in  a 
dish  perfect,  is  a  glory  to  themselves  as  well  as  a  pleasure 
to  you.  While  careful  to  remark  when  alone  with  them 
upon  any  fault  that  results  from  carelessness,  be  equally 
careful  to  give  all  the  praise  you  can,  and  repeat  to 
them  complimentary  remarks  that  may  have  been  made 
on  their  skill.  Servants  are  usually — such  is  the  weak- 
ness of  feminine  nature,  whether  in  the  drawing-room 
or  the  kitchen — very  sensitive  to  the  praise  or  blame  of 
the  gentlemen  of  the  family.  Indulge  poor  humanity  a 
little  when  you  honestly  can. 


INDEX. 


PAGB 

Almond  creams 93 

Altering  recipes Ill,  112 

Asparagus,  to  boil 66 

Ba6a..  86 

Small 87 

Syrup  for 87 

Batter  for  frying  a  la  Cargme  59 

"        "        "    Proven^ale..  60 

Beef,  Bceuf  k  la  jardiniere 74 

"    au  Gratin 75 

Pilet  de  boeuf  Chateaubriand 49 

Fritadella 81 

Little  breakfast  dish  of T8 

Mirot  -n  of 76 

Olives  of 79 

Pseudo-beefsteak 75 

Eagoiit  of  cold 78 

Salmi  of  cold 73 

Simplest  way  to  warm  a  joint 77 

To  warm  over  a  large  piece 78 

Sirloin,  to  make  two  dishes 49 

Biscuit  glace,  a  la  Charles  Dickens.  85 

"        "     Thackeray 85 

Blanc  for  white  sauce 31 

Boiling,  asparagus 66 

Cabbage 65 

Potatoes 66 

PcHS 65 

Rules  for  meat 65 

Bouchees  de  dames 88 

To  ice 89 

Bread 12 

Baking 14 

Cause  of  failure 15 

"     of  thick  crust 14 

Compressed  yeast 15 

Kneading 14 

Oven  heating  14 

Remarks 12 

Rules  of  time  for  rising 14 

To  set  sponge 13 

Bread-crumbs  for  frying 56 

Bread  dough,  to  keep  a  day  or  two.  106 

'*      for  pie  crust 97 

Soufflae 20 

Brioche 18 

Jockey  Club,  recipe  for 19 


PAOS 

Brioche  for  summer  pastry 19,  20 

Broiling 60 

Chickens  and  birds 61 

Brown  flour 34 

Sauce 71 

Butler,  maitre  d'hOtel 32 

Montpellier 33 

Ravigotte 33 

Cabbage,  to  boil 65 

Cakes,  Baba 86 

Bouchees  de  dames 8S 

Savarins 88 

Candies 92 

Chocolate  creams 94 

Cream  almonds 93 

Cream  walnuts 93 

Fondant 92 

Fondant  panache 93 

Punch  drops 94 

Simple  French 92 

Tutti  frutti 92 

Vanilla  almond  cream 92 

Walnut  cream 92 

Celeraic,  or  turnin-rooted  celery. . .  54 

Celery  seed  for  poup 106 

Celery  cream  soup 6S 

Chateaubriand,  filet  de  boeuf 49 

Chicken 48 

Broiling 60 

Cold..   49 

Pie 38 

Potted 44 

Roasting 48 

Use  of  the  feet 48 

Clinkered  fire-bricks 107 

Cold  meat  salmi 73 

Various  ways  of  warming 72-81 

Coloring  for  candy  and  icing 95 

Company  to  lunch,  and  nothing  in 

the  house 44 

Cromesqnis  of  cold  lamb 75 

Crumbs  for  frying 56 

Cucumber  and  onion  ragout 102 

Curacoa,  to  make 89 

Curry 108 

Deviled  meats 80 

Dishes  made  without  meat 108 

119 


120 


Index, 


PAGE 

Dri{)ping:,  to  clarify 59 

Feuilletonao;e 23 

Fire-bricks,to  remove  clinkers  from  107 

To  mend 107 

Flavoring 70 

Flounders,  to  bone 56 

As  filet  de  sole 56 

Foreqnartcr  of  mutton 101 

Frangipane  tartlets 26 

French  herbs 113 

Friandises 84 

Fritadella  of  cold   meat,    twenty 

recipes  in  one 81 

Frying 55 

Batter  a  la  Careme 59 

"    Proven(;ale 60 

Crumbing 56 

Filet  d(;  sole 56 

Flounders 56 

Oil  for 58 

Oj'siers 57 

Remarks  on 55 

To  clarify  dripping  for 59 

To  test  the  heat  of  fat  for 57 

Galantine 39 

Garlic 108 

Glaze 30 

To  glaze  ham,  tongue,  etc 32 

Gouffe's  pot-au-f  eu 68 

Rules  for  ovens 27 

Gravy 29-63 

Grating  nutmegs 115 

Ham,  to  boil 65 

To  glaze 32 

To  pot 43 

Hash 97 

Heart,  beef 100 

Sheep's 99 

Iced  soufflee 85 

A  la  Byron 84 

Icing 89 

Ink,  to  remove  from  carpets 107 

Jellied  fish  or  oysters 41 

Jelly  for  cold  chicken 47 

Jelly  from  pork 31 

Kerosene  lamps 107 

Keeping  meat 106 

Poultry 107 

Dough 106 

Kitchen  conveniences 114 

Knniznach  horns 16 

Kringles 17 

Lamb,  cromesquis  of 75 

Lamps li'7 

Larding  needle 112 

Leg  of  mutton 52 

A  la  Soubise 52 

Boiled 52 

Lemons,  to  keep 105 

Peels 106 

Little  dinners 50 

Liver,  sheep's 98 

Lnncheon^^ 35 

Maitre  d'h6tel  butter 32 


PAOK 

Management  in  small  families 47 

Maraschino,  to  make 90 

Marrow  from  soup  bone 98 

Mayonnaise,  new 42 

Meat,  to  keep 106 

Salad 52 

Mepliistophelian  sauce 81 

Miroton  of  beef 76 

Montpellier  butter 33 

Mushroom  powder 29 

Mutton  broth 52 

Forequarter 101 

Leg 52 

Neck  of  mutton 101 

Noyeau 90 

Nutmegs,  best  way  to  grate 105 

Omelet,  new 45 

Onion  soup,  maiirre 103 

Ornameiitiug  meat  pies 37 

Ovens 14 

Goufte's  rules  for  heating 27 

Oysters,  to  fry 57 

In  jelly 41 

Ox  cheek 100 

Panache  fondant 93 

Parsley  seed  for  soup 106 

Parsley  in  winter 113 

Pjiste,  puff 22 

To  handle 24 

Pastry  tablets 26 

Pate  a  la  Careme  for  frying 59 

"     Proven^ale 60 

Peas,  to  boil 66 

Peasse  soup,  maigre 103 

Pie,  bread  dough  for  crust 97 

Chicken,  to  eat  cold 38 

Fruit 24 

English  raised 38 

To  "  raise  "a 39 

Veal  and  ham 38 

Windsor 36 

Pork  for  jelly 31 

Potato  salad 54 

Snow 45 

Soup,  maigre 103 

To  w  arm  over 46 

Pot-aufeu 68 

Pot  roasts 99 

Potted  meats 43 

Punch  drops 94 

Ragout  of  cold  meat 78 

Of  cucumber  and  onion 102 

Ravieotte 33 

Remarks,  preliminary 1-12 

On  boiling 65 

On  bread-making 12 

On  frying 54 

On  kitchen  and  servants 114 

On  lirtle  dinners 50 

On  luncheons 35 

On  maigre  dishes 104 

On  management  in  small  fami- 
lies     47 

On  sauces  and  flavoring 70 


Index, 


121 


PAOK 

Bemarksonsonps 67 

On  table  prejudices 108 

On  true  economy  in  buying  meat  99 

On  rojisting 62 

Rissolettes 25 

Rolls 15 

Roux 34 

Rusks 16 

Salad,  Celeraic f>4 

Potato 54 

Cold  meat 52 

Salamander,  substitute  for 112 

Sauces 70 

Flavoring 70 

Brown  or  espagnole 71 

Mephistophelian 81 

White 71 

Mayonnaise 42 

Savarin  (cake) 88 

Soufflee  bread 20 

Iced 85 

AlaByron 84 


PAGB 

Soup  bone 96 

Soup,  celery  cream 08 

Consomme ." . . .    68 

Pot-au-feu 118 

Onion 103 

Pease las 

Potato 103 

To  color 67 

To  clear  stock 66 

Sugar  boiling  for  candy. 91 

Tainted  meat,  to  restore 107 

To  make  strong  vegetables  milder,  106 

Tutti  fnitti  candy 92 

Vanilla  almond  cream 92 

Veal 53 

W.irming  over 72 

What  to  do  with  scraps 45 

Where  to  buy  articles  not  in  general 

ns^e 112 

Why  meat  does  not  brown  in  cook- 
ing     62 

Windsor  pie 36 


y 


